The Sister Yamanaka
by Ino-Fangirl55
Summary: On a night when all seemed lost, a small baby girl was given a second chance at life. She got a family, friends, and a mess of trouble to come along with them... Hey, no one ever said being the vessel of the Kyuubi would be easy. FemNaru! FemNaruxKiba
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

**THE SISTER YAMANAKA**

**CHAPTER 1: A FRESH START**

Gone… Nothing was left of it. The creature which was just ravaging Konohagakure, a massive fox demon with nine tails known as Kyuubi was no where to be seen. It was like it was all a dream, like it never even happened. Or rather, that is what most in the village would like to believe. However, that was not the case. The destruction that lay in its wake, was still visible to the naked eye. All the brave men and women that fought to stop it, dying in the process would still not be coming home. All the innocent lives could not come back. Then, there was the saddest loss of all. The leader of the village, the fourth Hokage, otherwise known as the Yondaime was gone. He sacrificed himself. He gave his life to save them all. The village and its people. Ally and foe alike, both friends and strangers. He performed a forbidden jutsu, sealing the unstoppable Kyuubi into a vessel, where it could no longer cause any harm… Yes, very little was left of the incident… Save for one thing. If one could listen closely, they would hear the faint sound of a child… no, an infant crying into the night. And it was this sound that fell to the ears of a small group of people trying to locate their leader.

"I hear something." a young man called. He was wearing the typical ANBU uniform of the village. A wolf mask was covering his face, with tall, spiky, silver hair standing at an angle. "A baby… I can't imagine what one would be doing here."

"I might…" an older man replied, most likely middle aged. He had long, white, spiky hair that descended down his back, with red paint around his eyes. He wore a strange headpiece, with a hitai-ate marking him as both a shinobi of the village, and one of the legendary Sannin. "I knew it was coming… But was it… No, it couldn't be."

"Do you know something, Jiraiya-sama?" the younger man asked back.

"I'd rather wait until I'm sure, Hatake." Jiraiya answered.

The group seemed to agree with this. Other than the Toad Sannin and ANBU agent, there was the previous Hokage, known commonly as the Sandaime, as well as a few clan heads, including Yamanaka Inoichi, Hyuuga Hiashi, Nara Shikaku, and Akimichi Chouza. Also several members of the Konoha council followed along. Some of them close friends of the Yondaime, and concerned for his safety and current condition. A feeling of dread began to sit in, one that grew as they drew closer and closer to the sound of the infant's crying. The destruction caused in the battle seemed to grow with every step, and a feeling of sickness grew set in. Eventually, the small group arrived at the location, and the dread and sickness reached an all time high. The demon was no where to be found. Only the continued sound of a crying infant in the air, and on the ground, the body of the Yondaime.

"Sensei!" Kakashi declared as he started to run forward, only for Shikaku to put an arm on his shoulder.

"Gomen, Kakashi…" he replied quietly. "But… He's no longer among us."

Kakashi's shoulders seemed to slump in defeat from this. He gazed back over to the body of the Yondaime, and knew it to be true. Inoichi stared in disbelief. He slowly walked forward, falling to his knees and looking at the body of the Yondaime.

"You damned fool… You always had to be first for everything… You always had to outdo everyone and give it everything you had…" he muttered.

The Sandaime walked to the Yamanaka and put a hand on his shoulder. Jiraiya began to walk forward and look around.

"Gomen, Inoichi-san… I know you two were close… no, best friends…" he replied.

"That sound… A baby is around here somewhere…" Jiraiya mused aloud. "Hiashi, do you see anything out of the ordinary around here?"

The head of the Hyuuga clan gave a silent nod. Taking a deep breath, he activated his Byakugan, and began to look around the field. His eyes gazed over every inch of the area before him, his already enhanced eyes widening when he passed by the Yondaime's body.

"There." he said pointing. "In his arms."

Inoichi's head shot up at this. He quickly pulled himself to his feet, and began to run to the Yondaime. He was followed quickly by the Sandaime, Kakashi, and Jiraiya. Inoichi stopped in front of the Yondaime's body. Slowly and gently, he began to roll the body over, his eyes widened in the process.

"Minato…" he whispered.

"I see…" Jiraiya replied. "I had a feeling about this… But I was hoping it wouldn't be true."

"Jiraiya-sama, what are you talking about?" Kakashi asked.

"Kakashi, surely you knew that your sensei was expecting, correct?" the Sandaime answered for the Toad Sannin. Kakashi nodded in response. "Well, I believe that his child may be his…"

"No, it is his." Inoichi replied, taking the baby from the Yondaime's arms. "Look at its eyes… its hair."

"So… Wait… Why would sensei bring his child here?" Kakashi asked. "At a time like this?"

"Because… He used a jutsu…" Jiraiya replied. "My idiot student used a stupid, sacrificial jutsu!"

"You don't think he would…" the Sandaime began to question.

"Only one way to find out." Jiraiya answered. "Inoichi, open the blanket wrapped around the baby."

Inoichi looked confused for a moment, but did as he was told. Jiraiya and the Sandaime both moved closer, which was followed by the rest of the group doing the same. Jiraiya gave a silent nod, as the former Hokage gasped in surprise. Around the baby's navel were several strange markings, and on its cheeks, several whisker-like marks began to appear.

"I don't understand… What does this all mean?" Kakashi asked.

"Your sensei used a sacrificial jutsu." Jiraiya explained. "It's complicated, but basically he sacrificed himself. He gave his life to seal the Kyuubi into a container. The demon was too strong to kill, so sealing him was the last resort."

"This type of jutsu relies on a living being to be sealed within… Normally, only an infant will do." the Sandaime continued. "He probably couldn't bring himself to ask such a burden on someone else's child so…"

"He chose his own…" Inoichi said, slowly stroking the baby's cheek. He looked the baby over and smiled sadly. "His own daughter…"

"The question is, what do we do now?" Shikaku asked. "Our village's leader is dead, and Kyuubi hasn't truly been stopped… More like he's just hit a road block."

"Don't you see?" Hiashi asked. "The Yondaime knew what he was doing. The Kyuubi is helpless in his current prison. The child must be killed." Inoichi looked up in shock at this. "Kill the child, and that demon will die with it."

"You can't be serious, Hyuuga." Chouza remarked. "The child is innocent. It's like killing her for something she has no control over."

"Life isn't always fair." Hiashi replied harshly. "But the child is no longer a child… It's simply a demon… A demon reborn."

"It is cruel… But it may be for the best." Shikaku said. "I'm no expert with seals… But I do know they all have their limits… If the seal gives way…"

"Correct. The demon will be able to get loose." Hiashi said. "It is for the safety of the village."

Inoichi looked on as the group began to argue. Some wanting to kill the baby before the seal and Kyuubi could pose another threat. Others wanting to save it, to remember it as the legacy of the Yondaime. The Yamanaka looked down as he felt a light grip around his finger, seeing the baby's deep blue eyes wide open, and looking right into his. He cleared his throat for a moment, gaining the attention of the two closest to him at the moment, the Sandaime and Jiraiya.

"Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama…" he whispered quietly. "Might I have a word with you?" The two nodded. The three of them moved away from the bickering group without being noticed. Once they were a safe distance away. Inoichi looked both of them in the eyes. "I want an honest answer… What will be the most likely fate for Minato's child?"

"Honestly?" Jiraiya asked. He looked over to the Sandaime and nodded. "Unless we can somehow find a way around it, she will probably be killed…"

"The council seemed to be agreeing mostly on that decision…" the Sandaime added. He looked at Inoichi sadly. "Gomen, Inoichi, but I do not think there is anything we can do…"

"So not only will do I lose my closest friend… but his child will be lost too." Inoichi mused. He looked back down at the baby girl, who had closed her eyes and drifted to sleep. "She reminds me of my Ino… I wouldn't mind taking you home and raising you myself…" There was a slight silence that came from that sentence. No one said a thing for a moment. Slowly, Inoichi looked up from the baby and back to Jiraiya and the Sandaime. "Is that an option?"

"Adoption?" the Sandaime asked. "I don't know… It could be a very fickle matter…"

"Although… It could convince the council to allow her to live too." Jiraiya added. "I have a feeling that if an appropriate selection was made to keep check on her… Probably one of the Konohagakure clans, everything would be okay. The problem is, which one? Hiashi has already sided with those that want her to die, so the Hyuuga are out. I'm sure the Nara clan and Uchiha clan wouldn't be too different either."

"I'll do it." Inoichi replied, a bit too quickly. He bit his lip a bit and took a deep breath. "I want to raise her." The two watched as he walked forward, and stepped into the middle of the area. "I will raise the child."

The declaration caused all arguments to fall into a hush. The tension became so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Hiashi raised an eyebrow, and moved forward.

"Inoichi, surely you know of the threat this child could pose… If the child's seal fails… We could all be done for. We must kill her." he said.

"But will that really solve anything?" Inoichi asked. "What if the seal doesn't stop the Kyuubi from breaking out? What if her dying just causes it to escape sooner?" There was another silence. Inoichi smiled faintly and continued. "What I am suggesting, is give the child a chance to live. I'm sure we could arrange check-ups to make sure that the seal and her chakra are still functioning properly."

"What do you propose, Yamanaka-san?" one of the council members asked.

"Every so often, have a member of the Hyuuga clan check on her condition. They can check the seal and make sure the chakra is still functioning as it should. If the seal is weakened, we could alert Jiraiya-sama. He is a seal expert too, correct? I'm sure he could repair it if the need arises, right?"

"Hai, that would be no trouble at all." Jiraiya answered, smiling at Inoichi's quick thinking.

"Seems to be a quite logical idea…" the Sandaime replied.

The council members present and clan heads began to whisper among themselves. Inoichi was sitting on pins and needles, waiting to see what the verdict was. He wanted the child to live. He wanted to take care of her. The Yondaime was a close friend of his, ever since they were both in the academy… It was the only thing left of the man alive. But most of all, she was a child. And no child deserved death. He was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard a slight clearing of throat.

"Very well…" one of the council members said. "We shall allow the vessel to live. However, she will be checked up on by a member of the Hyuuga clan every three months to ensure that the seal and chakra is functioning properly. You are to keep a close eye on her for anything suspicious. If you find something to be out of the ordinary, you are to bring her to us immediately. Are we clear?"

"H-Hai! Of course! Arigato…" Inoichi replied. He looked down at the sleeping girl, and sighed in relief that his sudden outburst hadn't caused her to awaken.

"However, we have decided that there will be other rules and regulations." the council member went on. "The truth about the girl, about her being the container of the Kyuubi shall remain a secret. It is not to be revealed to anyone outside of this group, save for your wife of course." Inoichi nodded. "Along with the secret of Kyuubi, goes the secret of her origins. The Yondaime had many enemies outside of the village. We do not need them coming in by the dozen and hunting after a simple child." Again, he nodded. "You may leave Inoichi. I'm sure you have some things to think and discuss with your wife."

Inoichi nodded, and thanked the members of the village present, before turning foot and heading back to the village. As he leapt from rooftop to rooftop, he looked down at the sleeping baby and smiled. So much of her true father was in her… That same golden hair, and her deep blue eyes. However, at the same time he saw much of his own daughter, Ino in her as well. He smiled, hoping that Mia would be excepting in the baby. He landed outside their door and took a deep breath.

"Well, here we go… Let's hope you get to stay… Though you will if I have anything to say about it." Inoichi mused to the baby.

Inoichi quietly went inside the house and looked around. He smiled weakly, as he spotted Mia sitting on the couch in the den. Her light, blonde hair went down to her shoulders. She had emerald green eyes, and a fair complexion. She was thin, but curvy, and stood about to her husband's shoulders. She was humming a small tune while holding an infant wrapped in a blanket to her breast. She slowly pulled the baby away, and laid the child down gently in a nearby crib.

"I was so worried about you, Inoichi-kun…" she whispered gently, wrapping her arms around her husband gently. "Is everything alright? You're not hurt are you?"

"I'm fine, Mia-hime… I'm fine." Inoichi replied, kissing her lips gently. "I wish I could say that for everyone though…"

"Nani? I don't understand…" she said.

Inoichi smiled weakly, and sighed. He walked his wife to the couch, and had her sit down. He then sat down beside her, Mia's eyes finally noticing the wrapped bundle in his arms.

"I'm afraid… The Yondaime didn't make it tonight." he began. "He sacrificed his life to save us… the whole village."

Mia listened intently as Inoichi told her everything. He told her about the sealing of the Kyuubi. He told her about the council's arguments… And finally, he told her about the child. Every so often, her eyes would drift down to the bundle in Inoichi's arms. She waited until he was done speaking, before she spoke up.

"So… Is this… Is this his child?" she asked, holding her arms out for the child.

"Hai… His daughter and only child…" Inoichi answered.

"And you want to adopt her? Mia asked. "Even with all those conditions the council put on her? I dunno… It just sounds so troublesome…"

"Don't. Your sounding like Shikaku." Inoichi sighed.

"Gomen…" Mia giggled. "But in all honesty, are you sure you want this? I mean… It is a big risk should something go wrong… And Ino wasn't born that long ago to which we're still adjusting…"

"I know." Inoichi began, but paused soon after. He rose to his feet and moved over towards a picture on the table. It showed a picture of him and Minato shortly after they graduated. "But… It's the least I could do for him. His only daughter… I can't just ignore her… And… I owe it to him, as both a comrade of Konohagakure… And his friend…"

Mia rose to her feet and walked over to Inoichi. The baby was held in one arm, and she put her free hand on Inoichi's shoulder.

"Alright." Mia replied. "Looks like our little Ino is going to have a little sister."

"Arigato, Mia-hime…" Inoichi said quietly as he leaned in and kissed her on the lips once more.

"Now… What are we gonna call our new daughter?" Mia asked. "I think you should name her, since it was your idea to adopt her."

Inoichi looked down at the girl and smiled. He began to chuckle a bit, and gave a nod to his wife, taking his new daughter from her arms. She looked at him curiously, for a moment thinking that her husband may have lost his mind.

"I know it. The perfect name." he declared. "We will call her Naruto."

"Isn't that a ramen topping? It sounds kind of like a boy's name too…" Mia mused.

"Oh… Right… Well, he did love ramen…" Inoichi replied. "Right… How about Naru? Yamanaka Naru?"

"I love it." Mia said, kissing her new daughter on the forehead. "And so would he."


	2. Chapter 2

****

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

THE SISTER YAMANAKA

CHAPTER 2: THE FIRST DAY- MORNING

The sun was shinning over the mountains of Konohagakure. The village was busy, with the sounds of hustle and bustle filling the air. People were shopping and looking at various shops. They were chatting, reclining on benches, just enjoying the beauty of a day. Children were running in the streets and parks, all while laughing, singing, and smiles on their faces. Families walked together, hand in hand.

Yes, all was well within Konoha. That dark night seven years ago was now nothing more than a memory. Many changes had come across the village since then… And it was some time before they were all truly able to move on. The first thing that changed was the moving on of the Yondaime. A large memorial service was held within the village for their former leader. He was a truly respected member among the village, as a friend, ally, leader, and shinobi, and he would truly be missed. However, the village all knew that the seat of Hokage could not remain empty for long, even if it was to honor the man who last held its position. The village was still shaken and weak from the recent events. Leadership was needed. A strong mind was required, one to help hold things together, and lead Konoha back to recovery and strength. It was through a unanimous decision through the council that the Hokage's seat would be filled by the previous one, none other than the Sandaime, otherwise known as Hokage Sarutobi. Although he was old and tired, the man agreed. Like all the Hokage before and after him, he was a kind and wise man. He was one who put the village before himself, and now was a time more than any that they needed him.

Sadly, not all proceeded that well. As the saying go, loose lips sink ships, and the same thing goes for the village of Konoha. Despite the wishes and orders of the council, Inoichi, and the Sandaime, the secret of the Kyuubi's fate was leaked out into the street. It turned out that not all the members of the council were as willing to keep the secret as others. It may have been that the demon fox was responsible for killing a loved one. Perhaps they just couldn't forget the demon, and maybe they set their eyes on the next closest thing, which was poor Naru. The answer truly was not clear, however it didn't take long for the anger to begin to rise within the village. They demanded the council destroy the child, to get revenge on both the Yondaime and those of their lives that would not return because of the attack. Yes, you've probably figured it out by now. The fact that Naru was in fact the daughter of the Yondaime was left completely out of the story. The council however found itself at a loss. Half of them wanted to obey the village's wishes, and kill the child. However, the other half remembered that it was in fact the Yondaime's child. It was the logic of the Sandaime that ended up pulling them together for the time being. The girl was now in the care of the Yamanaka clan. Doing anything to harm her, could turn said clan against the village, and the Nara and Akimichi clans would most likely follow suit. As it turned out, they were not alone. The Inuzuka clan too wished to preserve the child's life. In order to find a peace between the two villages, or rather, to try and find a steadying mate, the Hokage increased the watch on Naru. She would now have ANBU keeping a closer watch on her. However, at the same time he placed a law on the village. From that day forth, no one was allowed to speak of the events of that fateful night. It was to be recorded in history that the Yondaime was in fact successful in his attempts to slay the Kyuubi, and lost his life in the process of the battle. Saying or telling anyone of the actual events and what happened to the Kyuubi was strictly against the law of the village, and could be punishable, and it was ensured that it would be known if this law was broken.

At first neither side was please. However, the Sandaime knew that all they'd truly need was time. Slowly, but surely, he was right. Not another word of the Kyuubi's true fate was ever mentioned, however those who still held a grudge were free to do so. Naru however, was completely oblivious to this. She had a family who cared for her, and she was happily spending her current morning catching a few extra moments of sleep. The seven year old sighed contently, rolling onto her side with a smile. A pleasant dream was being held within her mind. Nothing could possibly spoil this moment now… Or at least it seemed that way. Until the sudden buzzing of the alarm clock by the girl's bed began scream with all its might. Naru's eyes snapped wide open, and she began to twist around in her sheets. A violent struggle began as she attempted to shut the clock off… Only for her to fall flat out of the bed and on her face. A moan escaped her lips as she rose to a sitting position, and somehow managed to get the alarm clock to shut off.

"I don't remember setting the alarm this morning…" Naru sighed, looking up to see that it was just past eight in the morning.

"That's because I did, baka!" a rather cheery voice announced.

Naru looked up at that point to see a slightly taller blonde girl standing in her doorway. She was a bit thinner than Naru, and her blonde hair was more of a platinum as opposed to being golden like Naru's. It was short, maybe just going down to her shoulders and she had a fair complexion, resembling that of her mother. She was dressed in a purple tank top and black shorts, while wearing a pair of matching purple sandals.

"Ino-nee-chan?" Naru questioned, blinking rather sleepily. "Wait, why did you set my alarm for?!"

"You really are a baka, aren't you?!" Ino replied, grinning. "I set the alarm because I knew you'd be so excited last night that you'd have a hard time waking up! But it looks like you were so excited, you ended up staying up so late that you can't remember what you were excited about!"

"Nani? I don't follow…" Naru muttered sheepishly.

"Today's the day, baka!" Ino said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Our first day at the Ninja Academy!"

Naru's eyes seemed to widen at this, almost to the point where they wanted to jump out of her skull. The girl quickly rose to her feet and began to scramble around the room in a blur, trying to get herself ready. Unlike her older sister, Naru's hair was long, and usually kept in two ponytails that descended past her shoulder blades. Not only was it longer, but it was more of a rich, golden, sun-like hue. Her skin complexion was a healthy tan, obviously a sign that Naru spent much of her time outside. She was a little short for her size however, only coming to just above Ino's chin. The most distinguishing marks on Naru however, were the six whisker-like lines on her cheeks. She had three on each one, and unfortunately for her, they were automatic cheek pinchers for those who happened to find them cute.

Ino smirked as she watched her younger sister scramble out of her nightgown, and into an orange sundress with a picture of a daisy in front of it. Naru quickly ran her fingers through her hair, and smiled as she made for the door to her bedroom. However, this was not done by grabbing a pair of green goggles that were hanging on her closet door. She tossed them around her neck and smiled brightly at Ino as she ran past her. Ino sighed.

"I swear, Naru! You wear those things everywhere! Are you ever gonna stop?" she asked.

"Not if I can help it!" Naru replied back. "These were a present from the old man, remember? They're probably one of the most valuable things in the village!"

"Naru! That old man was the Hokage, ya know!" Ino replied as she chased after the girl. "And I've seen them at all the stores in town! They aren't worth that much!"

"That's not what counts for worth, Ino-nee-chan!" Naru shot back.

The two sisters continued bicker like that for a bit, both making their way down the stairs to the kitchen in the process. Mia was sitting at the table, drinking a cup of coffee and enjoying the peace and quiet, only to sigh as the two girls came downstairs and took it away. Still, she smiled happily. With both of them going to the academy, things would surely quiet down around the house for a bit. And despite the arguing, the two were rather close.

"Konichiwa, girls." Mia greeted her daughters. As if on cue, the bickering stopped and the two greeted back, earning a small giggle from Mia's lips as the girls sat at the table. She rose to her feet and walked around the table, kissing them both on the foreheads, a groan escaping from both. "So, my two girls academy bound… It's a big day for both of you. What do you wanna have for breakfast?"

"Ramen!" Naru cheered.

"Pancakes!" Ino said.

Mia sighed. The two girls seemed to glare at each other, and began to declare ramen and pancakes back to one another. Slowly, Mia made her way to the door of the kitchen, was now being occupied by Inoichi. She wrapped her arms around her husband, and glared at him playfully.

"I blame you for this." she whispered, earning a chuckle from him.

"Now, now… This is no problem at all…" Inoichi said. "After all, it's not everyday that your two girls begin their walk down the path of the shinobi. So, we'll just make them both."

The girls cheered happily, and Mia sighed as she followed Inoichi into the kitchen to help in preparing the girls breakfast. She sighed again as she watched her husband get a bowl of instant ramen down, and go about preparing it for Naru. She leaned in close, just close enough for her husband to hear and glared at him playfully again.

"I could kill you for getting her addicted to that stuff." Mia told him.

"Ah, there's no harm in it. Besides, he would have wanted it that way!" Inoichi replied, grinning.

"Well, it's because of that thinking that she refuses to eat her vegetables." Mia shot back.

Inoichi simply chuckled. The family made merry for the remainder of breakfast. After which, and when Mia managed to finally stop crying from her babies growing up, Inoichi began to walk his two daughters to the academy. He looked down at them and smiled wide.

"Hmm… This is a big day for both of you." Inoichi began to speak, gaining both of their attentions. "I was about your age when I started my shinobi training. It was a lot of fun, but a lot of hard work too. Not that I don't think you two will have a problem with that though. After all, you're both Yamanaka. You should do great."

"Hey, tousan!" Naru called, tugging on his sleeve a bit. "What was it like exactly? Were the classes hard? What about the sensei?"

"Well… It's a little tough to say really. Everyone kinda picks things up on their own. For some, things may be hard, for others they may be easy. Of course, it doesn't matter for you two. After all, you got me to help you out when needed." Inoichi replied.

"What about friends?" Naru asked right away again. "Do you think we're gonna make some cool ones? What kind did you make?"

"Naru, what about Shikamaru and Chouji?!" Ino questioned.

"Well, we've already got them… I mean, what about new friends?" Naru asked, regardless of the reasoning.

"Now, now… Settle down, girls." Inoichi chuckled, calming his daughters down. "I had a few friends. There was Chouza and Shikaku, you know both of them though… I did have another friend. I think you know him as the Yondaime?"

"Wow! You knew him?!" Naru shouted and asked at the same time. "He's like… a legend! One of the greatest shinobi in the world ever! He's my idol! You gotta tell me about him!

"Hai. There's a lot to tell…" Inoichi replied, drifting off a bit. "But you'll find all about him when as you continue your learning here."

The two girls looked up as they said that, felt a slight bit of nervousness inside. Before them stood the Shinobi Academy of Konohagakure. It looked much like a basic school might. Many classroom windows all lined the building, with various flowers and trees growing in the yard. Attached to one of the trees was an old wooden swing. For some reason, this swing caught Naru's eyes as the three made their way to the building. Her attention was snapped back to what was in front of her, when she heard a familiar voice calling out to her.

"Hey! Naru! Ino!" a rather husky boy called as he ran forward. He had rather spiky brown hair, and red swirls on his cheeks. The boy wore a pair of black shorts and green t-shirt with the clan symbol for Akimichi in the center. "It's about time you guys made it!"

"Hey, Chouji!" Ino and Naru both greeted at the same time. Naru looked around a bit, and then back to the plump boy. "Hey, where's Shikamaru?"

"I dunno." Chouji replied, munching on a potato chip as he did so. "I don't think he's here just yet, is he tousan?"

"I haven't seen him, Chouji." Chouza replied, while greeting Inoichi. "It's just like Shikaku to be slowly dragging himself along though, huh?"

"I'll say." Inoichi answered. "I imagine that the bum will be dragging himself along any moment now."

"I can hear you both, you know." the said man declared as he walked into the schoolyard.

Sure enough, Nara Shikaku was slowly walking along towards the academy. His hands in his pockets, and a bored look on his face. Behind him walked his son, Shikamaru. He too was walking with a bored stare, and his hands in his pockets. He wore a pair of gray shorts and a white t-shirt with a symbol for Konoha on it. He was a bit taller than Chouji or the sisters and he kept his black hair pulled up in a small knot-style of sorts, one that kind of made him look like a pineapple. Naru ran over to the boy and grabbed him by the wrist, slowly dragging him forward.

"Come on, Shika!" she called him, using a nickname she knew he hated. "You're gonna make us late."

"The building isn't going anywhere, Naru…" Shikamaru sighed, but the remark fell on deaf ears as she continued to drag him to the academy. "Troublesome girl…"

All three of the adults laughed as they followed their kids inside the school. It was quite amusing, really. So much of all of their parents was showing in all of them, Naru included. Eventually, the group reached the classroom and the three parents turned to their kids.

"Well, this is where we part ways for a bit." Inoichi said. "I want you two girls to be on your best behavior. Remember, you're representing the Yamanaka clan."

"Don't eat anything weird." Chouza told Chouji. "And remember, don't listen to what anyone says about your weight. You're a big person on the inside, and if you are yourself, then you'll be alright."

"Shikamaru." Shikaku called. The boy looked up at his father lazily. "… Don't do anything troublesome."

Shikamaru shrugged him off, and walked into the class followed closely by Chouji. Ino followed them, and Naru looked back, a bit nervous at Inoichi. He gave her a strong smile, and she in turn gave one back to him, before following her sister into the room. It was rather noisy inside the room. The kids inside were all carrying on and talking to one another. Slowly, Naru made her way inside, trying to find where Ino and the others were sitting. Her eyes widened as she spotted them in the middle of the room, and she immediately noted one thing. Every table the kids were sitting at had room for three kids, and Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji were already sitting in a row. Ino stood up and waved Naru over.

"Gomen, Naru… But the tables don't have enough room for four people to sit at." Ino said. Naru nodded, and looked around.

"Why don't you just sit at the table in front of us? That ways we'll all still kinda be in the same place." Chouji suggested.

Naru nodded and sat down at the said table. Not long after though, she began to sniff the air around her. Shikamaru and the others looked at her funny, until the lazy boy finally cleared his throat.

"Naru… What are you doing?" Shikamaru asked.

"Don't you guys smell it?" she asked back, sniffing a bit in the process. "Something… Something in here stinks… It smells like a wet dog…"

"That's just gross, Naru!" Ino shouted. "I swear, you're almost like a boy!"

"No, I'm being totally serious!" Naru assured her sister. "I smell a wet dog!"

"Could you be any louder?!" a rather harsh, though equally loud voice asked. "Besides, what's wrong with how a dog smells?!"

Naru turned to her left and it was at that point that she noticed that a boy was sitting beside her. He had short, kind of shaggy brown hair. Red, triangle like markings were painted under his eyes. He had fang-like teeth, resembling those of a dog. He wore a pair of gray shorts, and a long-sleeved, yellow shirt. Naru leaned a bit closer to him, and sniffed again, before scooting back a bit.

"It's you!" Naru declared, pointing at the boy. "You're the one that smells like that! Kami… You reek!"

"Well, excuse me!" the boy snapped back. "But at least I'm not loud, annoying, and scrawny!"

The two began to shout random insults at each other, easily garnering the attention of the students in the class. Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji all three began to pretend like they didn't know Naru at this point, however it was rather difficult when blushes of embarrassment were beginning to appear on their cheeks.

"Can't you get her to stop, Ino?" Chouji asked in a hushed voice.

"Me? What do you expect me to do?" Ino asked back.

"Well, she is your troublesome sister." Shikamaru replied. "Do something…"

Ino nodded and suddenly reached forward, grabbing Naru by her left pigtail. The girl squealed a bit as Ino tugged her back. Shikamaru and Chouji both put their heads down at this point. Naru quickly leapt out of her chair and glared at Ino.

"OW! What the heck was that for, Ino-nee-chan?!" Naru demanded.

"You're acting stupid, baka!" Ino shot back. "You're getting into a fight with a boy you don't even know because you think he smells bad?!"

"It's not just that!" Naru stressed. "Did you hear those things he called me? Loud? Annoying?! SCRAWNY?!"

"Naru, you are all those things…" Shikamaru muttered.

Naru seemed to almost fall over at this point. Slowly, she looked up at Shikamaru, and blushed a bit, before sitting in her seat with a huff.

"Heh… Guess he told you, huh?" the fanged boy asked.

"Sh-Shut up…" Naru muttered.

It was at that moment that the door to the room opened up, and in walked two shinobi of the village, two Chuunin to be exact. They both wore the standard uniform for Konoha shinobi, a dark blue jumpsuit, which was covered by a green flack vest. A pair of blue shinobi sandals were on their feet. Where they differed though, were their heads. The first one had a scar going across the bridge of his nose. He had brown hair, which he kept pulled up in a style similar to Shikamaru's, and a hitai-ate tied around his forehead. The other one had long, shoulder-length silver hair. He too had a hitai-ate, though his was put on his head resembling a bandana. The students immediately filed into their seats and everyone fell into a hush. As the two men descended the stairs, the one with silver hair looked down at Naru, and tapped his fellow shinobi on the shoulder.

"Iruka-san… Isn't that…" he began to whisper to the Chuunin with brown hair.

"I believe so, Mizuki." Iruka replied to his partner. "What is she doing here?"

"Probably the Hokage…" Mizuki muttered. "You know he seems to have a place for the gaki…"

"Now, Mizuki… If for some reason Hokage-sama believes that she has a need to be here, then we'll have to trust his judgment." Iruka paused and looked back at Naru, then to Mizuki. "Let's just keep a close eye on her."

The silver-haired Chuunin nodded, and took his seat in a chair beside the teacher's desk. Iruka followed by taking the said seat, and then clearing his throat, gaining the attention of every kid in the class.

"Konichiwa, everyone. I'd like to be the first to welcome you to the Shinobi Academy of Konohagakure, where you shall all begin your walks along the path of the shinobi. My name is Unimo Iruka, but you may call me Iruka-sensei. And this is my assistant, which you may call Mizuki-sensei." Iruka began. "I know you all must be quite excited, but there is something you must understand before we begin… The path of the shinobi is not one full of fun and games. It's a serious one, full of dangers, harm, and one that can easily lead to an early death…" The room grew deadly silent at this point, but Iruka went on just the same. "However, it is also one full of honor. It's full of pride, dedication, respect, and hard work. You have the choice to make. You can either live a normal life, free of such things, or you can train and study. You can become a shinobi of the village, one of its protectors, and do something truly worthwhile. Are you all up to the challenge?"

"Bring it on!" Naru shouted happily. "I'll show ya just what I got!"

"Which probably isn't much…" the boy beside her snickered. Naru shot the boy a dirty glance, and immediately responded by stomping on his foot. The boy yelled out in pain, and rose out of his seat quickly, glaring at Naru. "What was that for?!"

"Is there a problem back here?!" a familiar voice asked. Both Naru and the boy looked up to see Iruka leaning over the table, staring at the two intently. Naru's eyes then widened as she looked down, and saw another Iruka sitting at the desk, waiting patiently. "Well?"

"N-No, Iruka-sensei…" both Naru and the boy replied together. Naru however went on. "Iruka-sensei, how did you do that?"

"This?" the Iruka in front of Naru's table asked, before disappearing in a flash of smoke. This left only the one at the desk in the front of the room. "Why, this was nothing more than a standard Bunshin jutsu. A fairly common technique. One that you will all get to learn, considering you straighten up and stay focused!" The class gave a silent nod, and Iruka turned to Mizuki. "Mizuki, if you would."

"Hai, Iruka-san." he replied as he arose from his seat and walked forward. "There are several things that we'll be focusing on: ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. However, this is not all we will be teaching. We will also be going over what in general it means to be a shinobi, such as the laws and rules of being one. We will be teaching you the history of our village. We will be training you both mentally and physically. Does everyone understand?"

Everyone nodded, and Mizuki sat down once more. Iruka walked forward, and took back over from there.

"Also, there will be one time a week, where we split the class in half for a brief period in time. We will be splitting you up by gender. The boys in one group, and girls in the other." Iruka explained. "Since this is your first day, we will be starting you off light. We will be spending a small amount of time in these groups, and then we shall rejoin as a class, where we will give a small evaluation."

"Evaluation?" the boy beside Naru asked.

"In other words, a test." Iruka answered.

"What?!" Naru shouted. "We haven't even been here a day and you're testing us already."

"Calm down…" Iruka said with a sigh. "This test is not for a grade… We simply wish to see where everyone in the class stands as a whole. That way we know who might need some extra help, and who doesn't."

"Oh… That sounds alright, then…" Naru replied, appearing to miss the various snickers around the room.

"Anyways, we will now split into the groups I described. All the boys will follow me into the next room." Iruka continued.

The sound of a door opening was heard, and everyone looked to see a female shinobi walk into the room. She had curly black hair, that went just past her shoulders. She wore a hitai-ate around her forehead and glasses over her eyes. Like Iruka and Mizuki, she also wore the standard shinobi uniform of the village.

"And all of the girls please come with me." she announced. "My name is Nagato Ryoko, and I will be your sensei in the finer points of being a kunoichi."

The class began to split up like instructed, and Naru couldn't be happier. She was finally rid of that dog-smelling boy, at least for the time being. However, that happiness felt on edge, when she felt a familiar tug on the back of left pigtail. She quickly spun around and saw Ino glaring at her.

"What's wrong with you, Ino-nee-chan?" Naru whispered.

"Oh, I dunno…" Ino began. "Maybe because it's the first day of class, and you've already got in trouble? Not to mention got the other kids to probably think you're a weirdo."

"I'm sure it's not that bad!" Naru replied.

Ino just sighed and shook her head. Her sister was either oblivious to all around her, or just ignoring it.


	3. Chapter 3

****

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

THE SISTER YAMANAKA

CHAPTER 3: THE FIRST DAY- NOON

Naru sighed in defeat as she fell on her back, landing in the soft grass outside of the school. So far, all this… girls only class seemed to be was an excuse to pick flowers. Naru shivered a bit at the thought. It wasn't fun. It wasn't exciting. It most certainly was not anything that a shinobi would do. At least, that was the case in her mind. Slowly, her eyes drifted over to Ino. The said girl was digging around in a patch of flowers, her eyes determined and focused.

"Man… This is so boring!" Naru moaned. "Why in the world are we picking flowers?! What does that have to do with being a shinobi?!"

"Naru, don't you remember anything that Ryoko-sensei said?" Ino asked. Naru blinked for a moment, sitting up in the process. "I can see you don't. She said that there is more to being a shinobi then just flashy moves and power, especially for us girls!"

"Give me a break!" Naru snapped. "I don't see how picking a bunch of flowers is gonna teach us anything."

"Then maybe you should actually try the exercise instead of just complaining." Ryoko replied, leaning in close to Naru. "It may seem pointless now, but the art of arranging flowers has its uses, as will the many other objectives our time together will teach. The whole point of these lessons is to teach you the feminine arts and womanly wiles as well."

"I don't get it…" Naru said, scratching her head.

"Look, think of it this way…" Ryoko sighed. "There may be times after you become a shinobi when you'll have to perform missions of espionage and the like, and many times these will take you into hostile territories. It's during moments like these, that you'll have to blend in and rely on looking as much like a normal woman as possible. If you can't even manage to do this, then you'll fail your mission, and it very well may cost you your life."

Naru's eyes seemed to light up as she processed every word that Ryoko said. Her mouth formed a quick grin, which then morphed into a full blown smile. She rose up right and began to scramble around, looking for various flowers and picking them quickly.

"Come on, Ino-nee-chan!" Naru begged, tugging on her sister's arm. "Don't you wanna learn how to be spies?! This is getting so exciting! Come on!"

Ino sighed and began to follow her sister about the field. For one brief moment, she looked back at Ryoko, and could've sworn that she saw the instructor laughing at the spectacle. The only problem was it was hard to keep an eye on what you were watching, especially when one Yamanaka Naru was charging about in full force. Naru would quickly find a flower that looked interesting to her, and quickly pull it out, and then move about. Ino's eyes widened at the sight, and then grabbed her sister's left pigtail, pulling back in the process.

"OW!" Naru shouted. "What was that for?!"

"Baka, you're not even paying attention!" Ino replied, putting her hands on her hips. "I bet you didn't even watch Ryoko-sensei's demonstration, did you?"

"Well… Maybe not all of it…" Naru answered. She watched as Ino knelt down, and followed suit. "Was I doing something wrong?"

"Only about all of it." Ino said, sighing in the process. "You can't just run and pull. Pulling it like that will more often than not just hurt it, and it won't do you any good like that! The problem with your flowers so far, is that they're all uneven. Some of them still have the roots hanging off them, and others barely have any stem at all. You've got to be gentle, like this."

Naru watched as Ino slowly pulled the flower out of the ground, being as careful as possible in the process. The flower came out of the ground perfectly. The stem was just the right length, the flower perfectly fine, and no roots at all.

"Wow, Ino-nee-chan! That was like… perfect! But wait, that was way too good for just one of the first few times doing that…" Naru mused.

"Well, kaasan has been letting practice with her from time to time. You know, running the shop and all. Usually while you've were hanging around Shikamaru and Chouji or tousan. But… It's no big deal, really." Ino replied. There was a proud tone in her voice, but a blush on her cheeks as well. "Anyways, now you try. Just do it like I did."

Naru nodded, and she began to pull on another flower just as Ino instructed. Her hands were a little shaky, but she tried her best to be gentle just as the older Yamanaka. Slowly, the flower came out of the ground. It wasn't as clean cut like Ino's was, but it was a drastic improvement from how Naru was doing it earlier. Naru smiled brightly, proud of her accomplishment, and turned to Ino.

"How about that?!" she cheered.

"Not bad, Naru… Not bad!" Ino replied.

"I know!" Naru responded, starting to sound a little full of herself. "It's not too hard when you get the hang…"

"Oh, stop sounding like you're suddenly the queen of flower arranging!" Ino remarked as Naru trailed off. She waited for the younger sister to shoot something back, but nothing came. Ino blinked a bit and turned back to Naru, looking at her as she seemed to be staring off into space. "Hey, Naru? Naru? Are you there? Ino to Naru, come in Naru!"

"Shh!" Naru said quickly, putting a finger to her lips. "I hear something."

Ino quieted down for a moment and looked around. She heard birds chirping, and the quiet chatting of the other girls in the area as they picked the flowers. However, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Ino shook her head and looked back at Naru.

"I don't hear anything funny…" she replied. "Are you sure you just aren't hearing things?"

"No… I hear something else… It sounds like crying or something." Naru said as she shook her head quickly. She rose to her feet, and pulled Ino up to hers as well. "Come on!"

Naru began to run about the field once more, dragging Ino along behind her. Her eyes shifted about the field as they moved, trying to find the source of where it was coming from. As they turned the corner, Naru skidded to a halt, causing Ino to almost trip over herself in the process. The two girls slowly peered around the corner and Naru pointed.

"There… Do you hear it now?" Naru asked.

"Hai…" Ino replied, slightly confused about how Naru could've heard it from the other side of the school yard. "But… All I see is that group of girls over there… If one of them was hurt, wouldn't they be going to get Ryoko-sensei or someone else like that?"

"Hai." Naru said. "So… Maybe one of them isn't hurt…"

"You don't think… They maybe beat someone up or something, do ya?" Ino asked.

"Only one way to find out!" Naru shouted as she took off running again.

Ino had somehow managed to slip out of her grasp and watched as her sister charged towards the group of girls. It was just like Naru… Run into something without thinking about a single problem that could arise from her actions. Ino sighed as she slowly rose to her feet and began to follow Naru. What they saw caused both of them to feel angry. A group of girls, older ones from the looks of it, were all crowded around a smaller girl, one that they both thought they remembered from their class earlier. She was curled up somewhat into a protective position. Long, pink hair lined her face, and fell into her deep, emerald-green eyes. Oddly, it seemed to be arranged into a way that it would cover her forehead as much as possible.

"What's going on here?!" Naru asked, pointing at the crying girl. "What are you doing to her?!"

"We didn't do anything to her!" one of the older girls replied. "All we were doing is pointing out her obvious flaws!"

"Flaws?" Naru asked, bending down and looking at the girl closely.

"Hai!" another one of the older girls replied. "I mean look at that forehead of hers! It's so huge!"

"I know, have you ever seen anything so big in your life?!" another one asked. "It's so funny. I just wanna write something on it!"

"P-Please… Please stop it…" the pink-haired girl cried.

"Heh… She's crying again. What a crybaby… You know what we should do? We should change her name!" the first girl announced, one appearing to be the leader of the group. "The only question is what…"

"Crybaby is too common… I think we should name her something that catches the full attention of her most distinguishing feature, Yuki." one of her cronies replied.

"I've got it!" Yuki replied. "Billboard Brow! It's perfect, and it truly matches that huge, gleaming spot!"

The various girls began to laugh at the pink-haired girl. Her sobbing began to get louder again, causing the girls to laugh more once more. Naru looked at the girls, then the crying one, and then back to the group again. Her eyes narrowed as she stood up, putting herself between them and the other.

"Stop it." she said quietly, causing the girls to stop laughing.

"Nani?" Yuki asked. "What are you talking about?"

"This! Stop making fun of her!" Naru snapped back. "This isn't funny! All it's doing is hurting her feelings!"

"Who asked you, anyways?" Yuki asked. "Go on back to your baby class! We're too busy to deal with you!"

Naru felt her hands clench together. She slowly walked close to Yuki, and before anyone could react the sound of a girl shouting in pain filled the air. The girls watched as Yuki was now laying on the ground, holding her cheek in pain. Yuki slowly rubbed it, and looked back at Naru.

"You little…" she began to mutter.

She never got to finish her sentence though. Because as she spoke, a barrage of flowers flew through the air and landed right in her mouth. Every eye in the area shot over to see Ino smiling, pulling her arm back from her recent throw. She put her hands on her hips and walked forward, her eyes were narrowed as she did so.

"Gomen, Yuki." Ino sneered. "But your body is so thin and lanky I thought I was just putting some flowers into a really ugly vase."

"Ugh… You…" Yuki began to mutter. She quickly pulled the flowers out of her mouth and began to lick the roof of her mouth. "My tongue feels funny… What did you do to it?!"

"The flowers." Ino answered happily. "That was a hybrid of the wolf's bane. It's not as poisonous as the real kind… But you might wanna go run and rinse your mouth out."

Even though Ino explained it simple, the only words that seemed to fall on Yuki's ears, as well as her friends were poisonous and mouth. Yuki began to panic and quickly scrambled to her feet, followed closely by her cronies. Ino smirked, laughing triumphantly with her hands on her hips.

"Kaasan?" Naru asked, referencing how Ino knew all that.

"Hai." Ino replied, turning back to the pink-haired girl. "But we can talk about that later. Right now, let's check up on her. Are you alright?"

The pink-hair girl seemed to flinch back for a moment as Ino leaned in. Ino blinked a bit, and gave her a reassuring smile. The girl seemed to relax a bit and slowly she nodded.

"H-Hai… I'm fine…" she said quietly, still a little shaky with a sob or two. "Um… A-Arigato for helping me…"

"No problem!" Naru replied cheerfully. "That baka it coming… So, what's your name?"

"M-My name?" the girl asked back. Both Naru and Ino nodded. "S-Sakura. Haruno Sakura. Wh-what about you t-two?"

"Yamanaka Ino!" Ino replied. "And this is my nee-chan, Naru." Naru smiled and Ino leaned in closer, lifting the bangs out of Sakura's eyes. "Hmm… You know, you do kinda have a high forehead."

"Ino-nee-chan!" Naru shouted, however Ino went on.

"And then you hide it behind your hair like that… It makes you look like a sheepdog… or a shy little ghost." Ino mused. "All that does is really draw more attention to it."

"I-It does?" Sakura sobbed a bit.

"Hai." Ino replied. "So, what you really need to do is not hide behind it. I think I have something for that…" Ino began to rummage around in her pockets. Both Sakura and Naru watched curiously. Ino smiled brightly as she found what she was looking for. Out of her pocket came a bright red, shiny ribbon. "This should do just the trick!"

"I… I couldn't take that from you." Sakura protested.

"Nonsense." Ino replied. "Now come here and let me fix it for you."

Sakura slowly nodded and came closer to Ino. Ino began to brush through Sakura's hair with her fingers, trying to get it all even the best she could. Then, she slowly began fix the ribbon into it, tying it into a nice, big bow. Ino stepped back to admire her work, and grinned happily, looking back to Naru.

"Not bad, Ino-nee-chan!" Naru declared.

"I know." Ino replied. "You look much cuter this way, Sakura. You can keep that ribbon."

"A-Arigato…" Sakura replied shyly. "B-But… But now people can see my forehead…"

"That's part of the problem, baka." Ino replied with a giggle.

"N-Nani?" Sakura asked.

"I don't get it either…" Naru added.

"It's not that hard, Naru…" Ino sighed. "The reason that those girls were making so much fun of you, was that you showed how obvious it was that you were sensitive about it. Don't just hide it and deny it. Be proud! Show it off!"

Sakura's face got a slight bit of blush on its cheeks. And for a slight moment, Naru and Ino both could've sworn that they saw a smile creep up on it. Naru smiled happily, and extended her hand, helping Sakura up to her feet. The sound of the lunch bell began to fill the air, as did the sound of Naru's growling belly.

"Whoo! It's lunchtime!" Naru cheered. "Hey, Sakura-chan! Do you have any plans for lunch? Are you gonna eat with anyone?"

"N-Not really…" Sakura replied.

"Then you'll come with us!" Naru replied, taking her hand and starting to drag her towards the academy. "There's always room with our group!"

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Sakura asked looking back at Ino, who gave her a reassuring smile.

"Nope! Now, come on!" Naru answered.

The three girls went back inside the building, and to their classroom. Inside, the various students were all getting their lunches, and preparing to eat. Naru looked around and spotted Shikamaru, waving at them lazily. She and Ino led Sakura to the table, smiling as they arrived.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet Haruno Sakura! Sakura, this is Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji. Sakura is going to be joining our group!" Naru declared. "You guys are cool with that, right?"

"I'm fine… There have been more troublesome requests…" Shikamaru replied.

"Potato chip?" Chouji offered Sakura, smiling happily.

"Arigato…" Sakura replied, taking the chip with a smile.

"That's the spirit! Welcome to the group, Sakura!" Naru cheered.

Sakura smiled brightly, and took a seat with the two girls. The group began to chat and eat their lunch, forgetting about any troubles they had had up to this point. Sakura looked over at the two Yamanaka girls, and back down. She sighed happily as she bit into her sandwich.

_"Arigato, Naru and Ino…"_ she thought. _"Arigato…"_

Lunch went by in a flash, and soon the entire class was out on the training field. In front of them stretched a miniature obstacle course of sorts. It was nothing too complicated, after all the kids were still young and fresh to the academy. It was more set up to be an example and demonstration of sorts. Iruka walked to the obstacle course, clearing his throat as he did so.

"Before you stands an obstacle course." he announced. "We will be grouping you off into groups of two, and you will then race to the end of the course. As stated this is a test of sorts. It will not resort in any grade, but it is merely to evaluate your existing skills."

"I will now give a brief explanation of the course." Mizuki said. "You will begin with a minor sprint, only about fifty yards. From their it's on to a target test of sorts. You will take three shuriken, and throw them at the targets on the dummies. Next, you will run another fifty yards to that wall. Climb up your rope, and ring the bell at the top."

"We will be timing you, and taking note of how well you perform in the areas." Iruka went on to explain. "Are there any questions?"

"Is there any way we can skip this?" Shikamaru asked with a yawn, earning a few chuckles from various students.

"Only if you want to drop out." Iruka replied, earning a grown from the Nara. "If there are no other questions, we will begin at this point. The first two students will be Haruno Sakura and Aburame Shino."

A young, quiet boy wearing sunglasses arose from a sitting position on the grass. He was wearing a pair of brown shorts and a long-sleeved, green shirt, which was covered by a light, green jacket. His hair was short and brown. Sakura hesitated for a moment, earning a nudge from Naru.

"What's wrong, Sakura-chan?" Naru asked.

"I'm gonna mess up…" she replied. "I'm not good at things like this…"

"You'll do fine, Sakura!" Ino cheered. "It's not too hard. Besides, it's just your first time anyways. I doubt anyone will do amazing."

"Just take a deep breath and try to relax…" Shikamaru added. "It's just a troublesome run…"

Sakura gave a slight nod. Iruka called her name again, and she quickly rose to her feet. She apologized to Iruka, and took her place along side of Shino. Iruka counted off, and soon the race was on. Naru, Ino, and Chouji all cheered Sakura along, while Shikamaru yawned and decided to catch a quick nap. Naru's cheering however, grew short and silent. A familiar smell began to fill the air, and she began to look around. A groan escaped her lips as she turned to see a pair of grinning, familiar looking, fang-like teeth.

"Oh, great…" Naru moaned. "It's dog boy…"

"I have a name, ya know?" the boy remarked. "Its Kiba! Inuzuka Kiba."

"I don't remember asking…" Naru muttered.

She tried to focus as the first race came to an end. The next two students were called, and sighed when it wasn't her. She sat back on the grass and huffed, earning a chuckle from the boy beside her.

"I can't blame ya…" he said. "This waiting is a pain. Of course, I can't wait. I'm gonna make my opponent eat dust."

"Please… I could crawl around this thing before you even got to the starting line." Naru replied, grinning proudly.

"Is that so?" Kiba asked. "I bet I'd be done before you even got off your butt."

"Shut up, dog breath!" Naru snapped.

"Make me, blondie!" Kiba snapped back.

"Kiba! Naru!" Iruka shouted. "Since you two seem to not want to pay attention, how about you both go next?"

Both students scrambled off their feet and moved quickly to the starting line. Shikamaru slowly sat upright, and sighed. Sakura, Chouji and Ino all turned to look at him.

"This is going to be troublesome…" he moaned.

"What is?" Sakura asked.

"Naru and that boy." he replied. "I have a feeling things are always going to be loud and annoying when they're around. And we still have about four or so years before graduation…"

Other students began to whisper among themselves as they watched the two. Iruka had an annoyed look on his face as he began to write some things down in a notebook. Mizuki however, was grinning as he watched Naru take her place at the line. Little did Iruka, Naru, or anyone else for that matter know, that Mizuki had tampered with several aspects of the course. All of which would begin to go wrong when he formed the proper hand seals. He grinned more as Iruka raised his arm to start the race, and then quickly lowered it. The two kids took of and Mizuki stepped back, slowly placing his hands together and forming a seal. The two children stopped at the target testing area, and grabbed their shuriken.

"Check this out!" Kiba boasted, tossing them with a small shout. The three shuriken flew through the air, two of them hitting the target and the last one hitting the dummy's head. "Ha! Two out of three! Beat that!"

"No problem!" Naru cheered.

She took her shuriken and aimed carefully, before letting all three fly. Mizuki's eyes narrowed as the weapons flew through the air, all of them scattering out and flying in various directions. Sadly, not one hit the target. Kiba began to chuckle, and various members of the class began to laugh. Naru had a slight blush on her cheeks, but took off towards the other portion of the test. Kiba was right on her heels. The two reached the wall, with two ropes were dangling from it. Kiba jumped and grabbed onto his, slowly starting to climb it. Naru reached hers, and gave it a slight tug. Slowly, she gabbed hold and began to scale up the wall. She had fallen a bit behind Kiba, but she was climbing slightly faster than he, and closing the gap. Mizuki chuckled to himself as he formed another hand sign. Naru felt her rope begin to swing back and forth, before suddenly a loud snap filled the air. Naru yelped as she fell to the ground, landing on her rump with a loud thump. Kiba's eyes widened at the sight, and he quickly slid down the rope. Almost all the students were rolling on the ground with laughter at this point. Iruka ran to Naru as Kiba reached her. Shikamaru, Ino, Sakura, and Chouji looked on, wondering if she was okay. They would've liked to follow Iruka, but Mizuki instructed them all to stay.

"H-Hey, are you alright?" Kiba asked, helping Naru off the ground.

Iruka helped the boy get her to her feet, but Naru didn't answer right away. Slowly, she looked around, noticing all the children that were laughing. Several of them were pointing at her and then whispering something to another person beside them. She heard three familiar snickers and saw Yuki and her pals sitting by a tree laughing hysterically at her. She even then noticed several academy teachers doing it too. She quickly shook Kiba off her arm.

"I… I'm fine, dog breath." she replied. "Just fine…"

Iruka looked at the class and cleared his throat.

"I think we should move inside for some history at this point… We will pick up our evaluations tomorrow." he announced.

This earned some various groans and sighs from the class. Some were disappointed that they didn't get a chance yet. Others upset because they wanted to watch Naru more. The blonde girl was still blushing the whole time they made their way back to the classroom. She didn't say one word to Ino or the others the whole time either. Mizuki grinned as he walked behind them all, his hands forming another sign as he did so. He waited until Naru sat down in her seat, before grinning more. Naru felt her chair began to shake, and then the legs gave out from under it, causing the girl to come crashing to the floor. The children all laughed at this, and try as they might Ino and the others couldn't fight it off either. Naru felt a deep blush rise to her cheeks, and she quickly scrambled to her feet and ran out the door. Iruka turned to follow her, but Mizuki placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Stay and teach the class, Iruka-san." he told him. "I'll go after Naru."

"Arigato, Mizuki." Iruka replied.

The silver-haired Chuunin walked around searching for Naru. He looked in the hallways, various classrooms, and even on the rooftop. He was about to give up, when he noticed a familiar looking figure sitting on the swing outside. Mizuki made his way to the said swing to find out that it was indeed Naru sitting there. He knelt down to the girl's eyelevel and smiled gently.

"Rough day, Naru?" he asked.

"N-Nani? No… Not at all." Naru replied, quickly wiping her eye. She quickly looked up at Mizuki and smiled brightly "Everything is fine, Mizuki-sensei!"

"Naru… You can't fool me." he told her. He took a seat by the swing and sighed. "Kids can be so cruel… Unfortunate accidents occur, and they don't make sure you're alright. All they did was laugh."

"H-Hai… That's true…" Naru replied.

"The thing is Naru, that you can't let it get to you… Or rather, you have to find ways around it." he told the girl. Naru looked up at him in confusion. "Make them laugh with you, not at you."

"With me… Not at me…" Naru repeated. "But… How do I do that?"

"Well, everyone loves a good joke. Pranks are fun too." Mizuki explained. "Perhaps if you do things like that, they won't laugh at you anymore."

"Do you really think so?" Naru asked, a slight hopefulness in her voice.

"I think so." Mizuki replied, patting her on the head. "And I have just the thing to help…" He paused as he reached into a pouch around his belt, pulling out a small book. He smiled as he handed the book to Naru, who looked at it slowly. "That's a book full of great pranks and jokes. Use it and master it, and the laughs won't stop."

"Wow…" Naru replied in a whisper. "Arigato, Mizuki-san!"

"Heh… No problem, Naru… No problem at all." Mizuki told her with a smirk. "Now, let's get back to class before it ends, alright?"

"Hai." Naru answered, hopping up to her feet.

The two made their way back to the class. Naru made her way back to her seat, holding her book tightly. Ino leaned forward and tapped Naru on the shoulder.

"Naru? Is everything alright?" she asked.

"Hai!" Naru replied with a grin. "Everything is great!"


	4. Chapter 4

****

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

THE SISTER YAMANAKA

CHAPTER 4: THE FIRST DAY- EVENING

"This has been one heck of a day…" Ino sighed as she, Naru, and Sakura walked down the road away from the academy. "But it's over now. So, what do you guys wanna do?"

"I dunno…" Naru said, flipping through the book Mizuki gave her as they walked. "Do you have any ideas, Sakura-chan?"

"W-Well… Do you want to go t-to the park and play?" Sakura asked. "I m-mean… I would have to ask my kaasan, but… It is j-just a suggestion."

"That sounds fun to me!" Ino replied. "We could do that, no problem, right Naru?" Ino waited for the younger of the sisters to reply, but she didn't. She kept walking ahead with her face buried in the book. Ino sighed and quickened her pace a bit, catching up to Naru. She reached forward and grabbed her left pigtail, giving it a quick yank. "Naru, we're talking here!"

"O-OW! Alright, Ino-nee-chan, alright!" Naru shouted. Ino let go and Naru rubbed the back of her head, moaning a bit. She quickly tucked her book away and glared at Ino. "Isn't there any other way you could get my attention?"

"Nope." Ino replied, her hands on her hips as she did so. "We were talking about going to the park to play for a bit… What in the name of Kami have you been reading for so long?!"

"H-Huh? Oh… Just a book." Naru answered. "Nothing important really…"

"Could've fooled me." Ino remarked. "You've had your face buried in it ever since you and Mizuki-sensei came back into the class. Let me see it!"

"N-No! Mizuki-sensei said it was for me only!" Naru semi-lied.

The two Yamanaka began to struggle for the book. Naru pulled with all her might. Ino resorted to grabbing Naru's left pigtail again. Sakura watched the struggle, and felt a giggle form its way into her throat. It fully escaped, and began to morph into a full laugh, causing both of the sisters to stop in their fight. Naru quickly grabbed the book and held it closely, while Ino turned and stared at Sakura.

"Sakura-chan, what's so funny?" Ino asked.

"O-Oh… Um… Well…" Sakura answered, calming down a bit in the process. "I g-guess it's you two. The way you to act and all… It's kind of funny."

"Funny?" Naru asked.

"Well, I really haven't gotten to see two sisters this close." Sakura answered. "I'm an only child, so this is kinda funny…"

Naru and Ino turned to look at each other for a moment, and just how humorous it could be. Naru was holding her book as defensively as she could. Ino still had a hold of that pigtail. Both girls just sat there staring for a moment… Then they began to giggle. Then they burst into a full fit of laughter. The two slowly pulled away from each other and rose to their feet.

"So… Shall we go to the park?" Ino asked as they began to walk again.

"Well… I still need to go by my home and ask kaasan, but it should be okay." Sakura answered. "It's not far from here, just around the block."

"Well, let's hurry so we can have some more fun!" Naru cheered, running ahead.

Ino sighed and took Sakura's hand, running to catch up to Naru. She tried to remind Naru that Sakura was the only one who really knew where the house was, but like usual Naru kept going anyways. It wasn't until one quick pigtail tug later, that Naru slowed down and allowed her new friend to lead the rest of the way. It didn't really take that long from there. The only reason any extra time was added was because they had to backtrack from where Naru led them a bit astray.

"Would you like to come in while I ask?" Sakura asked.

"Sure, I'll come in." Ino replied. "How about you, Naru?"

"I think I'll just wait here." Naru answered. "Just don't take forever, okay? I wanna have some more fun!"

Sakura and Ino nodded, and the two went inside, leaving Naru on her own for the time being. The blonde smiled and sat down on the front step, pulling her book back out and flipping it back open. She looked up for a moment, noticing a couple of women crossing the street in the process. One of them seemed to be pointing and whispering as they walked by. Naru's eyes narrowed a bit as she tried to get a closer look, but they turned the corner before she could get a good look.

"Huh… I wonder what that was about…" Naru mused to herself.

"What what was about?" Ino asked as she and Sakura came back outside.

"Nothing… Just saw something weird…" Naru replied. "Anyways, are we ready to go?"

"Hai." Sakura answered. "Kaasan said we have until dinner time before I have to come home, so let's have some fun."

Naru nodded and closed her book, putting it away once more. The three began to make their way to the park. Naru looked around as they walked, taking in things slowly. She don't know why she never noticed, but… She could've sworn that people looked at her funny as she walked by. Not so much the kids her age maybe… But more like the adults of the village. Naru rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, and tapped Ino on the shoulder.

"Hey, Ino-nee-chan?" Naru called.

"Hmm? What's up, Naru?" Ino asked, turning and stopping the process.

Naru looked around, and noticed that the strange looks she thought she saw weren't following her anymore. The shorter blonde shook her head, and smiled brightly.

"Never mind! Gomen, Ino-nee-chan!" Naru announced and began to make her way towards the park again.

"Alright then…" Ino sighed.

"What do you think she was going to say?" Sakura asked.

"I have no idea… I'm her sister and some of the stuff she does still makes no sense to me." Ino admitted. Sakura gave Ino a confused glance. "Let's just catch up, alright?"

The three made it to the park, and sat down in the sandbox, trying to think of something to do. The park was rather empty, something weird since it was a beautiful day. As the girls made small talk, Naru sat dragging a stick through the sand, when suddenly her eyes lit up. She jumped to her feet and smiled proudly.

"I've got it! The perfect game that we can play!" she shouted.

"What would that be?" Ino asked.

"Hide and seek!" Naru replied. "I haven't played a good game of that in a while!"

"But… Naru-chan… Do we have enough people to play that? I mean, there are only three of us." Sakura said.

"I'm sure of it! Besides, I think there are five!" Naru said, pointing in the process.

Both girls turned to see who Naru was pointing at. Entering the park at that exact moment was none other than Shikamaru and Chouji. Naru smiled brightly as she told the girls to wait there. She quickly leapt out of the box, and ran to the two boys.

"Shika!! Chouji!!" Naru shouted happily. "How's it goin'?!"

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru replied, groaning from Naru using that hated nickname. "What are you doing here, Naru?"

"Playing, of course!" Naru answered. "And you two showed up just at the right moment!"

"We did?" Chouji questioned. "Why?"

"Because! You two are gonna join me, Ino, and Sakura in a game of hide and seek!" Naru declared.

"I don't remember agreeing to that…" Shikamaru sighed.

"Well… You didn't." Naru said. "But does that matter? I mean what else are you going to do, Shika? Lay in the grass and sleep for the twenty-fourth time today?"

"As a matter of fact, I was." Shikamaru answered honestly.

"Well, not anymore! Come on!" Naru insisted.

Shikamaru sighed as Naru took his hand and began to lead him to the sandbox. Chouji didn't seem to have one problem with it one way or another. He just happily munched on another bag of potato chips. Naru arrived at the sandbox with her two recruits, and smiled happily.

"I see we have a full game now." Ino said.

"Hai!" Naru replied. "I told Shika and Chouji all about it, and they just couldn't resist! Isn't that right?"

"Hai…" Shikamaru said. "I'm so excited I could pass out."

Chouji gave a slight chuckle. However, it was quickly silenced by the sound of his chip bag rustling. He pulled out a chip, ate it, and then tossed the bag right into a trashcan. He followed this by pulling out a new bag of chips from a pouch on his belt, and opened them right away.

"Chouji, is that all you do is eat?" Ino asked with a sigh.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with having a healthy appetite!" the boy replied. "Are we going to play hide and seek or not?"

"Of course we are!" Ino replied. "And Naru is going to be it!"

"Nani? But Ino-nee-chan, I'm no good at being it!" Naru protested.

"It was your idea though." Ino said. "So it's only fair, right Sakura?"

The pink-haired girl giggled and nodded. Naru looked to both Shikamaru and Chouji, but both of them seemed to agree as well. She sighed in defeat and walked to a nearby tree.

"Alright… But I'm gonna find one of you to be it next time!" Naru shouted.

Naru put her arms against the tree, and then her head on top of those. She closed her eyes, and slowly began to count. All the while, Ino and the rest, save for Shikamaru who walked slowly like always, all began to scramble about and look for that perfect hiding place. Ino smiled as she ran to a nearby slide and hid underneath it. Chouji found the perfect set of bushes to hide in. Shikamaru climbed up a tree, and leaned against its bark. His eyes got very heavy at that point, and then he fell asleep. As for Sakura, she ran and hid behind a nearby fountain. Naru counted all the way to thirty, before she announced that she was coming to find her friends. For the first time since they arrived, Naru noticed just how quiet things seemed there. It was creepy, and it definitely sent a slight shiver down her back. Naru slowly made her way from the tree, and began to walk around the park looking.

The sounds of birds flying overhead began to quiet down. The sun was reaching that point of setting, in which the sky had changed from a blue, to more of an orange color. The sounds of crickets chirping began to fill the air. Naru walked around slowly, keeping her ears and eyes peeled for anything suspicious or out of the ordinary. She sighed as she looked behind a rather large rock, only to find nothing there. The girl was really starting to wish that she was one of the ones hiding. Naru loved hide and seek, but she was horrible at being it. She was so bad at it, that she pretty much hated that part of the game. But like Ino always told her, if no one would be it, then there was no point of the game even being called hide and seek. As her search continued, a light breeze began to fill the air.

"Oh… This isn't fair…" Naru muttered. She sat down for a moment to take a break and looked to the sky. "Maybe I should've peeked… But, Shika always manages to notice when I do that…"

"There she is!" a voice suddenly called.

Naru ears perked up at the shout, and she slowly turned to look over her shoulder. She spotted the girls from earlier at the academy, the ones that were being mean to Sakura. Only they were not alone. They had several adults following them, ones that Naru assumed to be parents. Leading the small group was the leader of the girls, Yuki. She had a bandage over her cheek from where Naru had slugged her earlier.

"There's the girl that hit me, tousan!" Yuki shouted, pointing dramatically at Naru.

"So… I was right…" Yuki's father said. "It was her…"

"Well, what else did you expect from Yuki's description, Goemon?" a woman asked back. "Only something like that could have that vile attitude, and the thought to hurt someone like that!"

Naru slowly began to rise to her feet as the group came closer. She tried her best to smile innocently at them. She figured that if she could look as innocent as possible, that maybe they wouldn't be as mad. Though she also figured that the girls had only told them half of the story, not all of it. Naru's plan didn't work out so well, however. That was made clear when Goemon reached down and picked Naru up by the hem of her dress.

"You little monster… How dare you even look at my daughter!" Goemon snapped, slapping Naru across the face.

"N-Nani?" Naru questioned as Goemon dropped her to the ground. She slowly rose her hand to cheek, rubbing it slightly. "B-But… You don't know what happened!"

"We know plenty, you little demon!" a woman in the group shouted. "You assaulted these poor girls for no good reason! You attacked them, leaving wounds. Just look at my poor Yuki!"

"B-But it was more than that!" Naru protested. "They were teasing and hurting another girl!"

"Liar! She's lying, tousan!" Yuki declared.

"I know, Yuki-hime." Goemon replied, giving his daughter a pat on the shoulder. "One cannot expect a demon to tell the truth." He paused and turned to face the group of followers he had with him. "I knew it was just a matter of time before something like this happened! The Sandaime might be foolish enough to turn the other cheek, but I know it will only get worse if we don't do something about this now…"

Yuki wasted no time in grabbing a rock and throwing it at Naru, hitting the poor girl right in the arm. The adults seemed to smile as Yuki's friends joined in the assault, going as far as to just sit back and watch. Naru panicked and didn't know what to do. She quickly fell to the ground and curled up into a ball, hoping that maybe this was all just a nightmare. She hoped that she would just wake up, and none of this would have happened, but she was not getting her wish.

Meanwhile, another Yamanaka in the park was completely oblivious to what was going on. Ino sighed as she sat down in the sandbox. She couldn't figure out what was taking Naru so long to find them, but after so long the others all had to go home. Ino knew that she couldn't leave and go home alone, so she was forced to sit and wait. However, she did have plans to give Naru and earful… and a good tug on that pigtail too.

"That little baka…" Ino moaned as she rose to her feet. "I dunno what's keeping her, but I better go find her before we get in even more trouble than we probably already will when we get home."

Ino leapt to her feet and began to walk away from the box. She checked behind every bush, looked up in various trees, and even checked the fountain water, but nothing. She just couldn't seem to find Naru anywhere. Slowly, Ino began to make her way towards the park exit. Maybe there was a chance Naru had already started heading for home. The thought of that made Ino even more angry, but it was still a possibility. She was about to exit the park, when she suddenly froze in her tracks.

"Ino-nee-chan!!" a familiar voice shouted.

"Naru…" Ino sighed. She quickly turned face and began to walk back into the park once more. "Where in the world have you been?! Shikamaru and the others already had to leave! We didn't even finish a single game! You better have a good reason for just ditching us…"

Ino's eyes widened at the sight before her. Naru huddled in fear, tears streaming down her cheeks. Adults laughing and pointing. Those girls from class earlier tossing rocks, spitting and hitting. Ino didn't waste a single second as she began to run to the scene, shoving several of the adults out of the way and getting in the way of the girls. She quickly pulled Naru into a hug, and looked at the group with a very angry look.

"What are you doing?!" she shouted at the group. "How can you just let them do this to her?!"

"Back up, kid!" Goemon warned, taking hold of Ino's hand and pulling her away from Naru. "We're in the middle of punishment. This demon must be taught a lesson, and must be taught one now."

"Demon?!" Ino shouted. "That's not a demon! That's my imouto!"

"Impossible! That thing has no family!" Goemon shouted, pulling Ino back further. "The demon must be somehow warping this girl's mind! We can't waste a moment longer!"

The man shoved Ino to another man in the group. She struggled to escape the man's grasp, all while shouting and yelling for help. Both girls were confused and scared. Everything was happening so fast, and there was nothing either one could do. As Goemon made his way to Naru, he pulled a small blade from his pocket, and slowly lifted it into the air.

"P-Please…" Naru begged. "I'll b-be good… Gomen… Gomen…"

"Sayonara, demon…" Goemon said with a smirk.

The blade began its decent, just to suddenly freeze in its place. Goemon struggled to move his arm down, confused as to why he couldn't any longer. He looked back at the group, to see them all turning and running. Ino's eyes were wide with what looked like hope instead of the fear she had a moment ago. Goemon's eyes now looked back up and he gasped at what he saw. A taller man was holding his arm back with ease. He was wearing the standard uniform of the Konoha shinobi, a green flack vest and blue jumpsuit underneath. He had a pair of fingerless, blue gloves on his hands, with metal plates on the back of the gloves. Tall, silver, spiky hair rose from his head, hanging at a slight angle. The most alarming thing however, was the hitai-ate that was around his forehead. It was worn at an angle, completely covering his left eye… and a mask covered the rest of his face. This left only his right eye visible on it.

"H-Hatake Kakashi…" Goemon whispered, his body beginning to shake.

"Hmmm…" Kakashi mused aloud. "Let's see… What is going on here… Hurting an innocent girl… Something that looks like attempting murder… The list goes on and on… My only question is, why?"

"I… I… She…" Goemon stammered.

"Save it. I have a good friend in the interrogation and torture department that would love to hear your story." Kakashi said, cutting him off. In a cloud of smoke, two ANBU agents appeared, and took hold of the man. "Take him to Ibiki, and make sure you tell the Hokage-sama about this too."

The two agents nodded and disappeared in another puff of smoke, taking a protesting Goemon with them. Kakashi sighed in anger, and slowly turned around. Ino was already back with Naru, holding her gently in her arms. Naru's cheeks were still soaked with tears, and her body shaking. Ino gently stroked her hair, and nodded at the man.

"Arigato, shinobi-san…" she said quietly.

"No problem." he replied, smiling. The only way Ino could tell he was smiling was the way his eye seemed to form an upside down "U" when he did it. He gently knelt down, and petted Naru on the head. "Are you alright, Naru-chan?"

"H-Hai… I th-think so…" she replied.

"Well… Let's get you both home then, alright?" Kakashi suggested. "I have the feeling both of your parents are worried about you two."

The girls nodded, and Kakashi carefully scooped Naru up in his arms. With Ino by his side, he began to walk towards the Yamanaka home. It was rather quiet, until the Jounin felt Ino tugging his sleeve. His visible eye shot down to her and he smiled.

"Shinobi-san? How did you know Naru's name?" Ino asked.

"Well… First off you can call me by my name." the man replied. "My name is Kakashi, alright?" Ino and Naru both nodded. "As for your question, I'm an old friend of your tousan's. I was there when you became Ino's sister."

"You were there when Naru was born?" Ino asked.

"Hai…" Kakashi replied. Well, he was there when she became a Yamanaka… It was kind of the same thing. "So we go back a bit. I was making my way back to the Hokage-sama's office from a mission, when I heard a loud set of noises coming from the park. I decided to swing by and check what the commotion was… Good thing I showed up, huh?"

Ino and Naru nodded to the Jounin. It was quiet again as they turned onto the street that led to the two's home. Kakashi's attention was caught again, this time by Naru.

"Kakashi-san?" she called. "A-Arigato…"

"No problem, Naru… No problem at all." Kakashi answered.

The three arrived back at the Yamanaka house shortly. Both Mia and Inoichi were relieved to see that Ino and Naru were both alright. As Mia stayed to listen to the incident, Ino staying close by her side, Inoichi took his other daughter to the bathroom in order to get her cleaned up and such. To say that the man was pissed would be an understatement. He was secretly hoping that an ANBU agent would show up, telling him that Ibiki was going to allow him to carry out the punishment. However, it was when he noticed a pair of small arms wrapping around him, did Inoichi manage to keep himself calm. He gently stroked Naru's hair, as he applied a bandage to her arm.

"Tousan?" Naru called out quietly. "Why?"

"Why what, Naru-hime?" Inoichi asked.

"Why did they do that? I don't understand…" Naru answered. She began to sob again, as Inoichi picked her up gently and began to rock her gently. "I was trying to tell them what happened… But they didn't do it! They just didn't listen!"

"I wish I knew, Naru-hime…" Inoichi replied. "The world is a messed up place sometimes." He carried the girl to her room, and he gently tucked her into bed. Inoichi sat on the edge of it for a moment, still stroking her hair. "It's just… Some parents are very protective of their children… and they just don't understand… Rumors happen, things get out of proportion…" Naru looked at him confused for a moment, and Inoichi sighed. "I just don't know, Naru… But I will make sure that this never happens again. I promise you…"

Naru looked away for a moment. She seemed to be thinking about something, earning a concerned glance from Inoichi. She slowly nodded, and then turned back to her father.

"Tousan… Have you ever had the feeling… That maybe, you were different?" she asked.

"Nani?" he asked back. "What do you mean?"

"I think… I think I get these strange looks from people sometimes…" Naru went on. "And… I dunno why, but… I just feel different from others sometimes…" She paused for a moment, and then suddenly giggled a bit. "Pretty weird, huh?"

"Not at all, Naru-hime." Inoichi replied. "You are very different. You are different because you are my daughter, and you are Ino's sister… And you are going to be a fine shinobi someday too."

"Better the Hokage?" Naru asked.

"Maybe… But that will take a lot of work." Inoichi replied.

"Then I'm gonna do it." Naru announced, grinning happily. "I'm gonna be better than the old man, and no one will ever be able to do that kinda thing to me again! Because if they even try, I'm gonna kick them right in the butt!"

Inoichi laughed heartily at this. He patted Naru on the head and kissed her cheek gently. She laid back on her bed, curling up slightly.

"Get some sleep, Naru-hime. I'll see you tomorrow." Inoichi said.

Naru smiled and closed her eyes as her father left the room. She waited a moment, and slowly sat up, crawling out of bed in the process. Inoichi had brought her clothes for the day back into the room, and there was something that she needed to see before she could sleep. Slowly, Naru smiled as she pulled a book out, the one she got from Mizuki. She climbed back into bed, grabbing a flashlight from a nightstand beside her bed in the process. She covered herself quickly, and flipped the book open. Naru then turned her flashlight on, and smiled as she began to read, looking for that big joke to get the kids to laugh with her… Not at her…


	5. Chapter 5

****

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

THE SISTER YAMANAKA

CHAPTER 5: THE GENIN EXAM

It was early, and all of Konoha was sleeping peacefully. The sun could just be seen rising into the sky. Only the sounds of chirping crickets filled the air. The streets of the village were deserted. Only two Jounin were present, both of whom were standing guard at the village gates, though to be honest they were half asleep as well. Yes, it was just another quiet, sleepy morning in the village of Konoha… Well, almost anyways. There is an exception to everything it seems, and Konoha is no different. The place that stood out was a building in the middle of the village, one that served as both a house and a flower shop. The sound of a light buzzing filled the air of a bedroom, which was followed by a light moan and the shuffling around of sheets. A hand seemed to shoot out of the sheets, and began to smack around various things on the nightstand by the bed. Finally, after almost demolishing all the things on top of the said nightstand, the hand managed to hit its target, silencing the alarm clock effectively. Another soft moan escaped the bed, before the owner managed to sit up, stretching in the process.

It was a girl, no older than twelve years old. She had short, somewhat shaggy looking blonde hair which went down to just past her shoulders. The girl had a healthy tan, one that showed she spent much time outside. She was clad in short, older clothing, ones that served her just for bed. A slightly baggy, orange tank top graced the upper half of her body, while a pair of rather short, orange shorts were on her lower half. Slowly, the girl rubbed her eyes and opened them in the process. They were a deep, sapphire-like blue. Ones that could easily captivate anyone just by looking into them. Tiny, whisker-like marks lined the girl's cheeks, three on each side. Does this twelve year old sound familiar? It should, because it was none other than Yamanaka Naru.

Yes, five years had quickly come and gone, and Naru had grown so much in that time. She was still short, probably the shortest girl in her class thanks to her constant ramen binging, standing only about 4'8". However, at the same time Naru was thin, but she had the beginning curves that all girls start to develop at that age.

As Naru swung her legs over the side of her bed, a grin found its way to her lips. She began to feel excited, hopping out of her bed with a slight giggle. She quickly made her way over to a calendar hanging on the wall of her room, and put a big "X" on a day that was circled every time. She giggled a bit more after this, and began to make haste running about the room. She tossed her sleeping outfit off in a rush, just letting the clothing fall on the floor where ever they landed. Naru then opened her closet in a flash, pulling out her favorite outfit of all to wear. She quickly dressed herself, though did her best at the same time to make herself look her best. Her grin grew more as she examined herself in a mirror. She was wearing a sleeveless, orange jacket, one that went just down to her chest. The top of the arm holes were lined with white fur. Under that was a black tank top of equal length, allowing her lean stomach to feel the cool morning air flowing through the open window. A pair of orange, somewhat baggy shorts were on her legs, going down to just past her thighs. Around the waist of the shorts was a belt with various pouches and such, each one holding various shinobi tools like shuriken and kunai. A pair of black shinobi sandals were on her feet, and she wore a pair of black fingerless gloves on her hands. To complete the outfit, a pair of faded, green goggles dangled around her neck. They were the very ones she wore all the time back when she was a seven year old. She gave herself an approving nod, and then made her way out the bedroom door silently.

The rest of the Yamanaka household was quiet. The only sound filling the air being a snore, one coming from Inoichi in his and Mia's bedroom. Naru sighed in relief to know that they were both still sound asleep, and she began to quietly creep down the hall and down the steps towards the front door. Not a peep was heard as she did this, proving that Naru was either very lucky, or this was not the first time that she had snuck out of the house before. Regardless, she stepped out into the morning air and did a silent cheer. She hadn't been caught yet, and she would surely not be caught this time.

Naru's smile somehow managed to grow wider as she walked down the street, and she even began to hum a bit. Just what was the Yamanaka so happy about? What made today so special that she would willingly wake up this early? Was it someone's birthday? Or maybe she wanted to get some early morning training in. That would be a no on both accounts. Naru had other plans for today, ones so great that she got goose bumps just from thinking about it. She had thought of the greatest prank ever for today. One that would make everyone take notice of her. One that would make every notice her skills and what she considered her greatness. Over the years, Naru had pulled a prank or two… or three… or more than she could remember. The girl was determined to make a name for herself, one that would make her stand out from the crowd, and receive the attention of her fellow peers. Sure, she still trained with her father. Naru practiced the academy's training here and there as well. But more often than not, Naru was always running about causing mayhem and pranks about the village, and she enjoyed every moment of it. Mia was quite worried about her daughter's behavior, especially since the pranks seemed to get worse and worse with every passing year. However, Inoichi assured his wife that it was all just a phase, and that Naru would probably soon grow out of it. Today was not that day though… And it was beginning to become uncertain when it would come.

Naru used all her stealth to make her way through the village. Believe it or not, a joke this good, a prank this amazing was not going to take place within a building, or even in the area of one. Rather, Naru had planned to strike a place that could be seen from all over the village. A place that attracted a few tourists here and there. A place that overlooked the entire village of Konoha. That place was none other than the Hokage Monument. It was a set of mountains along the edge of the village, one that had the faces of the first four Hokage carved into it. Each face looked down over the village, and each one in her mind was just begging to have her special touch. Her sneaking and creeping turned into a full dash as she reached the hill leading up to the monument. Naru's excitement was building, and she could barely contain it anymore. She quickly reached the top of the monument, and began to look around. A slightly impatient look was on her face as she began to tap her foot. It was almost as if she was waiting or looking for something… Or maybe someone. Suddenly she heard a rustling come from the bushes. Naru stood on edge, until she sniffed the air gently. She sighed in relief and smiled as she crossed her arms.

"About time you showed up, Dog Breath!" Naru exclaimed. "How long did you plan on keeping me waiting?"

"Aw… Shut it!" Kiba replied as he crawled out of the bushes, a tiny white dog following him. "I've been here longer than you, so I should be asking that."

Like Naru, Kiba too had changed over time. He was taller, standing almost a full head over the girl. His hair was mainly the same, just a bit longer than it was as a child. He was wearing a pair of brown pants and a large, gray, baggy coat with a hood. A pair of blue shinobi sandals rested on his feet, and he had a belt with pouches similar to Naru's around his waist. By his side was the white dog, or rather puppy. A canine companion that went by the name Akamaru.

"Don't just think of excuses!" Naru exclaimed. "Besides, we have other things to do! Did you bring the stuff?"

"Hai, hai…" Kiba sighed. "Two buckets of paint, a big brush, and rope…" Kiba pointed to the two buckets still hidden within the bushes. He then presented both the brush and rope in his hands. They were quickly snatched away by Naru, who began to giggle more as she looked at them. Kiba sighed and huffed. "Arigato, Kiba! You're so cool for taking this stuff from your toucan's shop!"

"Hmm? Did you say something, Flea Bag?" Naru asked.

"Gah!! Shut up!" Kiba shot back. "It's Kiba! My name is Kiba!"

"Would you shut up?" Naru asked back. "You're gonna get us caught!"

Kiba sighed as he watched Naru began to go to work. She secured the rope around her waist, and then followed by securing that under a very stable rock. She gave it a few good tugs and nodded in satisfaction as she began to open the buckets of paint. Kiba watched with a minor amount of interest, but kept looking around at the same time.

"Look… If I'm not home before tousan gets up…" Kiba began.

"Fine, go on!" Naru replied. "It'll make the air smell better around here anyways. Besides, you did your part."

Naru began to wave the boy off. Kiba rose to his feet and began to walk off. He took a moment and looked back to see Naru doing a few stretches.

"Hey… You know you're gonna get caught, right?" he asked.

"There's a difference between being caught in the act and being caught before you can get away, Dog Breath." Naru replied as she walked to the edge. "Now beat it, you're ruining my muse!"

Kiba shrugged his shoulders and walked away. He was muttering something about annoying, loudmouthed, and baka, but it fell to deaf ears. Naru was to busy leaping off the side of the monument, and dangling in the air. She smiled as she dipped her brush into the bucket of paint she was carrying, and then dragged it across the rock face of the Sandaime. Her giggling began to build up again, along with her excitement. She just knew this prank would be her greatest.

As Naru worked, she began to lose all track of time. The seconds became minutes, which then became hours. However, Naru was completely oblivious to this, as was most of the village for the time being, and the Shinobi Academy of Konoha was no different. The class was settling down for their next lesson, all of them a little excited. Graduation time was coming, and soon they would all become Konoha's newest Genin. At least, that's what they hoped. As the last few students began to file into their seats, Iruka walked forward and faced the class, clearing his throat in the process. However, no one listened. The chatting just continued, mainly about how they couldn't wait for graduation. Iruka smirked and took a deep breath.

"Everyone quiet down!" the Chuunin shouted. "It's time to start for today!" The Chuunin still had it. All it took for them to quiet down and listen up was for him to yell. It may have been because they had seen what he was capable of when losing his temper dealing with Naru… Or maybe it was because the class just respected him. Regardless, when the man spoke, they listened. He sighed, and cleared his throat. "As I'm sure you all know, tomorrow is the final exam. So, we will be spending today reviewing the material that will be covered on it. However, like always we will begin with the roll call. Mizuki?"

"Hai, Iruka-san." Mizuki replied as he stood out of his seat. He began to call out the names, each student responding when their name was called. It was long before the man had reached close to the end of the list. "Alright… Aburame Shino is here… Next, Yamanaka Naru!"

There was silence. Mizuki and Iruka both looked around. Mizuki again called the name, but still got nothing, but silence. Iruka sighed, rubbing his forehead in the process.

"Has anyone seen Naru?" he asked. "Anyone at all? What about you, Ino?"

Ino felt a blush rise to her cheeks as the class turned its attention to her. Ino had gone through a set of changes too. Her hair was now long and pulled into a ponytail that went down to her lower back. She was still the taller of the two sisters, standing about 4'11". She was thin, and had taken on a habit of always wanting to watch her figure and the like. Ino was wearing a purple, sleeveless top that went down to just past her chest, and a matching purple skirt. The skirt had slits in the side. Around her waist and thighs were bandage wrappings, and a pair of blue shinobi sandals were on her feet. On her arms were a pair of arm warmers. They were white, with purple trimming along the top and bottom.

"I… Um… I haven't seen her today." Ino answered honestly. Although her mind was screaming and wondering just what stupid stunt her sister was pulling now. "She was already gone this morning when I woke up."

"Has anyone seen Naru today? Maybe on the way to class?" Iruka asked everyone now.

He suddenly felt a headache coming on. It was only getting worse as everyone simply shook their head or remained silent. Iruka was about to ask again, when he heard Mizuki suddenly clear his throat. He turned to see Mizuki looking out the window, a weak smile on his face.

"I think I found her, Iruka-san…" he told Iruka, while pointing out the window. "Take a look."

Iruka walked over to the window, and his eyes widened in the process. The entire class seemed to raise out of their seats and follow. A set of giggles, groans, and the like filling the room. The Hokage Monument now looked completely different. Various designs, symbols, facial markings, and such now covered their faces, along with huge writing declaring it the work of Yamanaka Naru. Iruka groaned as he turned around and looked at Mizuki.

"Mizuki, I'm going to have to ask you to take over the class for a bit." Iruka said. "I have a blonde baka to go get and probably deafen with yelling."

"Hai, Iruka-san. Good luck." Mizuki told him.

The Chuunin left the classroom to go chase down Naru. Mizuki took his place at Iruka's desk as the students began to file back into their seats. Ino slowed down a bit, managing to make her way beside Kiba. A guilty look was plastered on his face, one that everyone had somehow managed to miss with the exception of her.

"Kiba…" Ino whispered in a hushed voice. "You knew about this all along, didn't you?"

"Knew about what?" Kiba asked, trying to look as innocent as possible. Of course, this was replied with a smack to the head. "Ow!"

"Keep it down back there!" Mizuki shouted.

"You baka… What did you do?" Ino whispered, sitting beside the boy.

"Look… I may or may not have given her the paint…" Kiba admitted. "And a brush… and a rope…"

"You gave her the stuff she needed for this?!" Ino snapped.

"Because she wouldn't leave me alone!" Kiba replied. "Look, I tried to talk her out of it!"

"Well, thank Kami you made the effort!" Ino sighed. "I swear… It's partially your fault that Naru is going to be this way… I mean, you basically encouraged her to do this one!"

Kiba groaned and lowered his head in defeat. If there was one thing the two sisters had in common, it was that they only heard what they wanted to hear. He had to admit that Shikamaru was right in one aspect of his life. Women were indeed troublesome.

Speaking of troublesome women, Iruka was making his way after one at this very moment. He made his way across the village, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. As he sped along through the village, he could see people pointing and gasping. He quickened his pace, stopping on top of the tallest building in the village, the Hokage's tower. Several of the village's shinobi were standing on top of the tower at that moment, looking on in wonder at how she had managed to do this for so long without one of them noticing.

"Damn it, Naru…" Iruka muttered as he looked at the sight. "You've really done it this time…"

"Is that you, Iruka?" an elderly voice called out. The Chuunin spun around to see the Sandaime walking over to him. He was smoking a pipe as he walked, his eyes gazing at Naru and her "masterpiece." He took the pipe out of his mouth and smiled slightly. "It seems Naru has really done a number this time."

"H-Hai… I suppose she has." Iruka replied. "But don't worry! I'm going to make sure she gets it this time." He paused as he took a deep breath and then suddenly leaned forward. "NARU! WHAT IN THE WORLD DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

The blonde girl who was currently making a mess of the monument froze. Slowly, she turned to look over her shoulder. Her eyes widened, and she dropped her paintbrush and bucket in the process.

"I-Iruka-sensei? Aww… Damn it…" she muttered.

She quickly shifted around and began to scale up the side of the monument back to the top. Naru quickly untied the rope and began to run down the hill, right back into the village. Iruka groaned as he had expected Naru to run. He excused himself from the Sandaime, and took off to follow Naru.

"Crap, crap, crap!" Naru shouted as she ran past building after building. "If he catches me, it's gonna be a never ending series of yelling and lectures! I just know it!" She turned the street corner, and continued to run. Naru looked over her shoulder, smiling as she didn't see Iruka anywhere around her. However, she should've looked back ahead of her sooner, for it was at that moment that Naru ran right into a slight… roadblock. Naru groaned as she fell to the ground, slowly rubbing her head as she sat back up. "Ow… What the…"

"If you know what's going to happen, then why do you do it?" a voiced asked. Naru slowly looked up, and groaned more as she Iruka glaring at her. "Konichiwa, Naru…"

"O-Oh, Iruka-sensei… H-How's it going?" Naru asked, grinning sheepishly.

"Could be better… I had to leave class early today to chase down an annoying thorn in my side." Iruka replied. "You know what happens next, right?"

"Well…" Naru began to muse. "I guess I could get yelled at… Or get away." Naru smirked as she quickly ran through a set of hand signs, before putting her two index fingers and thumbs together to form a diamond of sorts. "Shintenshin no Jutsu!"

Iruka's eyes widened as Naru's body suddenly fell limp, and he began to feel strange. His head lowered for just a moment, before it raised up. A slight… cunning, and somewhat happy look in his eyes.

"Heh… I win this time, Iruka-sensei!" he cheered… Or rather she did. Naru had managed to use one of her family's jutsu and had taken control of Iruka's body. While in control, she bent down and scooped up her currently unconscious body. Slowly, she turned around and began to walk, only to freeze in her tracks again. "N-Nani?!"

"Hello, Naru…" another Iruka said with a smile. "I hope you're enjoying your time in my Bunshin."

"B-Bunshin?" the Iruka-Bunshin asked.

"Baka!" Iruka shouted. He quickly pelted the clone in the back of the head, causing it to disappear in a cloud of smoke. Naru opened her own eyes just in time to see she was back in her own body… right before she landed with an oomph on the ground. "I hope you aren't busy tonight, Naru… Because you're going to have a busy one…"

"Busy?" Naru asked.

"Hai… I mean, someone has to clean the monument…" Iruka replied. "And I could go on yelling for a long, LONG time…"

Naru moaned in defeat as Iruka carried the girl back towards the academy. Mizuki was in the middle of reviewing the three basic jutsu of shinobi, when the door swung open and in walked Iruka with Naru.

"Well, we're back everyone!" Iruka announced. "And great news! I'm in such a great mood, that I've decided to give you all a pop quiz!" A set of groans and moans filled the room. Iruka raised his hand, still glaring like he had to Naru earlier. All of the students suddenly grew silent. "Now, if you want to complain, do it to Naru. She's the one who helped me decide to do this."

Naru gulped as she felt the eyes of the entire class fall on her. She didn't need to turn around to tell her that most of them wanted to beat the crap out of her that moment. She just sunk down further into a seat that Iruka deposited her into, trying her best to hide her face.

"What kind of pop quiz will you be giving them, Iruka-san?" Mizuki asked.

"Henge." Iruka replied. "It's a pass or fail quiz. You either make a perfect henge of me, or you fail. Now everyone line up in front of me!"

The class began to file down to the floor below. Naru could feel the glares intensifying at that point, and began to wish she could be somewhere… anywhere, but here. She heard a familiar throat clearing, and turned to see Ino glaring at her.

"Nice going, baka!" Ino snapped, bopping her sister on the back of her head. "Was it worth it?"

"Totally! I mean, did you see all those people that were looking at me? The only way anyone could have missed it was to be blind or a shinobi on a mission!" Naru replied, grinning.

"So what are you gonna do about tousan, then?" Ino asked. "He's not blind, and he wasn't on a mission."

"I… I'm sure he won't be too mad…" Naru answered. "Besides, it was just a harmless prank."

"Tell that to everyone else having to do this stupid pop quiz…" Kiba muttered as he walked back from his turn.

"Get over it, Dog Breath! You were the one who helped me do it!" Naru shot back.

"Naru!" Iruka shouted, stopping the two would start an insult-fest. "How about you go next?" Naru nodded and walked forward. The Chuunin gave her a stern glare before continuing. "Now remember, I want a henge. It has to be me, and perfect. Got it?"

"Of course, Iruka-sensei!" Naru smiled innocently. "This will be no problem." Naru quickly formed a simple hand sign, and a cloud of smoke burst in the room. The entire class seemed to be waiting as the smoke cleared, only for Iruka's eyes to widen and a small blast of blood to shoot out of his nose… As well as Kiba, and most of the males of the classroom. Before them was not Naru in a henge of Iruka. Rather, it was a tall, shapely woman. She had long, blonde hair pulled into pigtails, and she was wearing nothing more than an orange, string bikini. She smiled innocently as she blew a kiss to Iruka. "How's this, sensei?"

"You baka!" Iruka shouted as we walked up and smacked her on the back of the head. The woman quickly disappeared, returning back to the form of Naru rubbing the back of her head. The class all began to point and laugh, save for Ino and a few others. The laughter was interrupted by the sound of a bell ringing and Iruka sighed. "Class dismissed… Don't forget that the Genin exam is tomorrow… Study, and we'll see you tomorrow. Except for you, Naru!" The girl gulped as Iruka leaned in close. "We have a monument to clean, remember?"

The day seemed to just drag on for Naru at this point. She ended up spending the remainder of the day at the monument, scrubbing away all the paint and such on it. Iruka kept a stern look on his face as he watched the girl. Naru paused for a moment, and looked up at Iruka with a tired look on her face.

"Can't I stop and finish up tomorrow?" Naru asked, using as sweet a voice as she could.

"You wish!" Iruka replied. "We're not leaving until every spot of that paint is gone!"

"Fine…" Naru muttered. "Not like I'm missing much anyways… Just glares from the villagers and all…"

Iruka looked at Naru, and felt a slight twinge in his heart as he did so. He looked up at the setting sun for a moment. A slight sigh escaped his lips as he nodded to himself, and looked back down to Naru.

"Naru… How about when you're done… We'll go get some ramen. My treat?" Iruka suggested.

"Now that's motivation!" Naru shouted. Iruka smiled weakly as he watched the girl begin to work harder on her chore. "I'll have some beef ramen… No! Chicken!"

Naru's hard work finally paid off. It had taken the remainder of the afternoon, but as promised Naru was enjoying a hot bowl of ramen as bought by Iruka. The two ate in silence for a moment, Iruka seeming to be thinking about something. He swallowed some of the noodles in his mouth before turning to Naru.

"Naru… I have to ask. Out of all the places in the village, why did you choose to paint the Hokage Monument? I mean, I know you really didn't pay that much attention in class, but you do know who those men are, don't you?"

"Hai, they are the strongest shinobi our village has ever known!" Naru cheered. "They were also the heads of the village! The only way to become the Hokage is to be the absolute best in the village! Like the Yondaime, he was the one that defeated the Kyuubi and saved us all!"

"H-Hai… That's right…" Iruka replied quietly, taking another bite of noodles. Another moment of silence passed, before Iruka spoke again. "So… Why did you do it then?"

"Because I'm gonna be the next one, of course!" Naru cheered. "I'm gonna be the Hokage of Konoha someday, and then there won't be anymore of those glares the villagers give me! I'll get respect! Everyone will notice me, and treat me like a hero! But I'm not going to be like the others who were Hokage! I'm gonna surpass them all!"

"That's… That's quite a dream, Naru…" Iruka said.

"Hai, hai!" Naru replied. She paused to shove some more ramen noodles into her mouth with a smile. "But any dream is worth the work! And I'm gonna make this dream real!"

Iruka watched as Naru turned back to his ramen. Naru… This girl seemed just like any other. The Chuunin was soon shook out of his thoughts to see Naru tugging on his sleeve.

"Hmm? What is it, Naru?" he asked.

"I have a favor to ask you, Iruka-sensei!" Naru said. "I was trying to get your attention, but you were off in la-la land or something…"

"So, what is it?" Iruka asked. "Do you want some more ramen?"

"Well… That would be good, but… I want something else in the meantime!" Naru pleaded. "Can I see your hitai-ate, please?!"

"My hitai-ate? Why?" Iruka questioned.

"Because I wanna see how it looks on me!" Naru said cheerfully. "I'm gonna be a Genin starting tomorrow, so I wanna try it on ahead of time!"

"Gomen, Naru… But only a full-fledged shinobi can wear these." Iruka said. Naru gave a pout-lip, but he remained firm in his choice. "Don't worry, Naru. All you have to do is pass your exam tomorrow, and you can find out for yourself!"

"Hai, Iruka-sensei…" Naru replied. "Now… About that ramen…"

Iruka began to chuckle at Naru. He prepared to order her another bowl, when suddenly a hand reached out and grabbed Naru by the arm. She was pulled out of her stool quickly, a slightly annoyed Ino glaring at her.

"There you are!" Ino declared. "Tousan says you need to come home right now!"

"Do you have to be so rough?" Naru asked. "I was gonna come home soon…"

"When? After you made Iruka-sensei buy you fifty more bowls?" Ino asked back.

"It's alright, Ino." Iruka replied. "Naru, you better head home. I have a feeling you still have a bit of a night ahead of you…"

Naru sighed as she knew her sensei was right. She thanked him, before being dragged of towards the Yamanaka house by Ino. Sure enough, she was in deeper than she thought. After receiving a verbal thrashing from her mother, Naru was sent to her room while her parents thought of a suitable punishment. The girl wasn't really that worried though. Inoichi had a way of calming Mia down, and the punishment was never anything too dramatic. So, while waiting, Naru took a cloth and began to tie it in various areas, trying to figure out just where it looked the best. Naru sighed and fell back onto her bed, when she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in." she said.

"Naru…" Inoichi said as he walked in the room. "You really did it this time…"

"It was just a little joke…" Naru replied. "Besides, no one was hurt!"

"Well… Mia doesn't think that…" her father went on. "So… I talked it out with her… And you've been grounded. No ramen for two weeks."

"TWO WEEKS?!" Naru shouted. "I thought you talked her down some?!"

"I did…" Inoichi said. "She wanted it to be a two month ban…" He paused as he noticed the ribbon tied around Naru's forehead and scratched his head. "What have you been doing in here anyways?"

"Oh, I've been getting ready for the exam!" Naru replied, seeming to forget all about the ramen-ban for a time.

"By using a ribbon?" Inoichi asked.

"Well… It's to see what I'll look like with a hitai-ate!" Naru said. "I wanted to see using Iruka-sensei's, but he wouldn't let me borrow it…"

"I see…" Inoichi said. He looked around a bit, and then untied his own hitai-ate. Naru's eyes widened as he extended it to her, and she immediately snatched it out of his hands. "Now, this is just to see…"

"I know, I know!" Naru replied. She tied it around her forehead, smiling proudly as she turned to Inoichi. "How about that, tousan?!"

"Hmm… I dunno… Something… Just doesn't seem right." Inoichi mused. "May I?" Naru nodded, and her father walked over, untying the hitai-ate. He held it out, looking back between Naru and it, before grinning. "I know just the place!"

Naru watched as he moved closer, removing the goggles from around her neck. Inoichi laid them down gently on the bed, and then tied the hitai-ate gently around Naru's neck. He stepped back and looked her over slowly, before giving her a thumbs up. Naru smiled and walked over to the mirror, looking herself over before smiling too.

"It's perfect! I look so cool!" Naru declared. Inoichi chuckled as he hugged his daughter. A slight yawn escaped her lips in the process. "Man… Today's been long…"

"Then maybe you should get some sleep…" Inoichi replied. He untied the hitai-ate from his daughter's neck, and put it back on his own forehead. "You have an exam tomorrow, after all."

"Hai…" Naru said, climbing into bed.

"Good night, Naru-hime…" Inoichi said as he kissed her on the forehead. "And… Maybe try cutting those pranks down a bit, hmm?"

The next morning came fast. Naru, Ino, and the other students were all in class. All of them were abuzz with the big exam being just around the corner. After today, they would no longer be academy students, but rather Genin. They would be official shinobi of the village of Konoha. Iruka and Mizuki both entered the class, a smile on Iruka's lips. He prepared to do his usual yell to start class, but the students were all silent already as he turned to face the students. He sighed. They were always so well behaved on the last day…

"Well class, today is the big day." Iruka began. "Today, you will all be taking the Genin exam. One by one, we will call you to the room in the back. Once there, you will perform the jutsu of our choice. Mizuki, what is the jutsu for this year?"

"This year's exam, will be performing the Bunshin jutsu." Mizuki replied. "When called into the room, you must create two perfect Bunshin. If you manage to complete the test successfully, we will give you a hitai-ate, marking you an official shinobi of Konoha and as a Genin."

All of the students began to talk amongst themselves again. They were not expecting something as easy as this. It seemed easy, way too easy. Naru however, was not among those people.

"Bunshin jutsu?!" she asked herself, banging her forehead on the table. "Why did it have to be my worst one?!"

"Naru… I'm sure you'll do fine." Ino replied, giving her sister a gentle pat on the back. "I mean, you're Naru! Nothing is impossible for you!"

"Except for basic thought." Kiba added.

"Shut up, Dog Breath!" Naru shouted, punching the boy on the back of the head.

Kiba probably would've been in for more, had his name not been called at that point. He grinned as he walked down and into the back room. He was gone for a moment or two, and then he came back with a shiny hitai-ate around his forehead. Akamaru was barking happily on top of his head. This continued for some time. Naru would watch as someone was called down, only to return a moment later with a hitai-ate. Soon, all that was left was she and Ino. Naru watched as Mizuki called Ino into the room, all while feeling sicker and sicker. A moment later, Ino was back, carrying a new hitai-ate as well. Now all that was left was Naru.

"Alright, Naru!" Mizuki called. "It's your turn!"

Naru looked worried, sending a glance back at Ino. Her sister smiled back at her, patting her back.

"You'll do fine. I know it!" Ino told her.

Naru smiled weakly back and headed down into the test room. It looked much like another classroom, only a bit smaller. Iruka was sitting at a teacher's desk much like his own in the main room, and Mizuki in a basic, wooden chair. Iruka could tell that Naru was a bit nervous, even though she seemed to be trying to hide it with a smile.

"Are you alright, Naru?" Iruka asked. "Are you ready for the exam?"

"Of course I am!" Naru cheered. "This is just another step on the road to Hokage!"

"Alright then…" Mizuki said. "Remember, all you have to do is perform the Bunshin jutsu. Make two perfect Bunshin, and you pass."

"Hai…" Naru replied quietly.

Naru slowly began to build up her chakra, focusing on making two perfect Bunshin. She imagined their eyes, their hair, their skin tone, clothing, everything. A large cloud of smoke erupted into the room. Naru slowly turned around, hoping to see the two clones, only to squeak quietly. The desired Bunshin were not there. Instead all that was there was a single clone, one that looked like it had been beaten with a stick and had the flu.

"Naru…" Iruka began. "Gomen, but… You fail."

"Iruka-san…" Mizuki interjected. "Now, Naru did technically manage to make one Bunshin… Couldn't we let her pass anyways?"

Naru looked up and hopeful for a moment. Iruka was silent, appearing to be thinking it over, or at least that is what she hoped. However, he was not thinking, but rather shaking his head.

"No, Mizuki." Iruka said. "Naru would be a hindrance if that was the best she could do. We can't allow her to pass. Gomen, Naru… You are more than welcome to try again next year."

Naru didn't wait though. She quickly turned around and ran out the door. Every student in the classroom watched as she ran past up the stairs and out the door. The students had noticed several things. One of which being that Naru did not have a hitai-ate in her hand as she ran. Iruka sighed as he and Mizuki began to leave the room and walked back to the classroom.

"I better go talk to her." Iruka said.

"No, I will." Mizuki replied. "You stay with the class."

"Arigato, Mizuki." Iruka said as she sat back in his desk.

"It's no problem, Iruka-san. I have experiences in dealing with this kind of thing." Mizuki said. As he walked up the stairs, he noticed Ino with a concerned look on his face. "Don't worry, Ino… I'll take care of her."

Ino watched as Mizuki left the room. She felt a sick feeling in her stomach, and turned back around slowly as Iruka prepared to give another speech. Slowly, with a bit of hesitation, Ino raised her hand, getting the attention of the Chuunin.

"Iruka-sensei… May I go to the restroom?" she asked.

"Hai, just hurry back, Ino." Iruka replied.

Meanwhile, Naru was sitting quietly on the swing in the school yard. She watched as various students came out of the building, each one wearing a hitai-ate somewhere on them. Parents were proudly congratulating their children on the feat. She had imagined her father being one of them, congratulating both she and Ino on becoming shinobi, but now that seemed impossible. A tear fell from her eye and started to fall down her cheek.

"Naru… Are you alright?" a familiar voice called. Naru's eyes looked up to see Mizuki beside her once more. She quickly rubbed the tear away and nodded. "Are you sure?"

"Hai… I'm fine… Really." Naru replied quietly.

"Look… Iruka-san means well." Mizuki told her. "He really seems to like you, and he wants what's best. You and I know that it would not be for the best if he sent you out unprepared, right?"

"I guess so…" Naru said.

"You know, Iruka didn't have anyone to help him like you do." Mizuki suddenly said, a slight smile on his face. "He lost both of his parents when he was young. Everything he has in life, he's had to do on his own… I don't think he wants you to have to do the same…"

"What do you mean? Naru asked.

"Well, before he told me to find you… He told me about a second exam you could take." Mizuki explained. "Now, I won't lie to you. It is harder than the original exam was, but… I think you could tackle this one no problem. Are you interested?"

"Hai, hai!" Naru replied happily. "Please! I'll do anything!"

"Shh…" Mizuki said with a smile. "Come with me, and I'll tell you all about it…"

Night would eventually fall in the village of Konoha. It was quiet, and a bit on the cold side. A crisp breeze blew through the village, on a clear night. The pale light of the full moon was shining down on the village. It hung directly over the Hokage's tower, bathing the tower in most of the light. The moon shone through the windows. If one was to look closely, they would swear they saw a shadow sneaking through the rooms. It would pause every so often and look around, before then moving along again. The shadow stopped just short of a large cabinet, a lock covering the door.

"No problem…" the shadow chuckled. It pulled out a kunai and began to pick the lock some more. "I just have… To pick… A bit more…"

The lock snapped apart, and a small cheer escaped the shadow's lips. It quickly pulled open the cabinet and smiled as a large scroll was pulled out. The shadow attached the scroll to its back and slowly began to sneak back to a window. Suddenly, the lights in the room flipped on, and an elderly voice cleared his throat.

"Naru-chan… What are you doing here?" the Sandaime asked, staring at the girl curiously.

"H-Hey, old man… How's it going?" Naru asked innocently.

"Naru… Did you break in here… and that scroll! Where did you get it?" the old man asked.

"Gomen, old man… But if I get caught, I'll fail!" Naru replied making a hand sign. A cloud of smoke erupted, and before the Hokage stood the taller, older, sexier, curvier Naru. She smiled and winked at the old man, blowing him a kiss in the process. "Please… Please don't tell anyone…"

"O-Oh… Oh my!" the Hokage shouted, as he fell onto his back.

A blast of blood shot from the old man's nose. He quickly fell unconscious as he hit the ground. Naru's eyes narrowed as she turned back to normal. Naru slowly walked forward and poked the old man on the side, making sure he was still alive. A slight breathing sound came from his mouth, and Naru sighed.

"Wow… The old man is an even bigger pervert than Iruka-sensei…" she mused. "I better get going to the meeting place before I'm late!"

It didn't take long before the Hokage regained consciousness. He quickly alerted several of the village shinobi to start tracking down Naru. They quickly went about their tasks, trying their best to find Naru. Iruka sighed as he too was one of the shinobi put on alert. He knew that Naru was upset about not passing, and hoping that maybe it would not be her. That was what had brought him to the Yamanaka house. Perhaps the Hokage was just imagining things, and Naru was home with her family, just setting down to dinner. He knocked on the door quickly, and was greeted by Inoichi.

"Iruka?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Good evening, Inoichi." Iruka replied. "Gomen for the trouble, but is Naru here?"

"Naru?" Inoichi repeated. "No, both she and Ino are still out. We figured they were both probably celebrating with Chouji, Shikamaru, and Sakura on graduating from the academy. Why?"

Iruka paused for a moment and saw Mia busy over the stove, preparing dinner. He gave an odd look to Inoichi. The blonde man nodded, and told the woman that he would be back in a moment, slowly shutting the door behind him.

"Inoichi… I don't know how to tell you this, but… Naru did not graduate from the academy. She failed the test… And we believe that she might have stolen a scroll from Hokage-sama's office… THAT scroll." Iruka told him.

"Naru…" Inoichi muttered. "I hope Ino isn't helping her."

"I don't think so…" Iruka said. "Ino passed… But Naru is her sister so…"

"Anything is possible." Inoichi replied. "Come on, Iruka… We better hurry and find them. We'll split up. You go check west, and I'll take east."

The two shinobi took off, continuing the hunt for Naru. Naru however, was completely oblivious to the situation in the village. She was sitting against a tree in the middle of the forest of Konoha. Sweat was dripping off her brow, as she sighed.

"Man… I thought the first jutsu was hard… But to think that the second would be one of those? Someone must really hate me out there…" Naru muttered. "Anyways, time for the third one."

"NARU, YOU BAKA!" a familiar voice shouted. Naru quickly turned around to see Ino standing in a tree. A worried, yet pissed look in her eyes. "Do you have any idea what you've done? A lot of shinobi are looking for you, and none of them look to happy! I kept hearing that you took some scroll! A very important one belonging to the Hokage!"

"Aw… Calm down, Ino-nee-chan!" Naru replied. "I'm just doing the make-up exam Mizuki-sensei made for me! All I had to do was get this scroll from the old man, and learn a jutsu inside of it. But, I managed to learn two of them instead! There's no way that I won't be able to pass now! You should see them!"

"So, wait… You've been working on your skills this whole time." Ino muttered. "I have to say… Not what I expected…"

"Me neither…" a familiar, male voice now said. Naru and Ino both looked up to see Iruka staring at them. "You're in big trouble, Naru…"

"But, Iruka-sensei! I'm just doing what Mizuki-sensei said!" Naru replied to the Chuunin.

"Mizuki? What do you mean?" Iruka asked.

"You should know, Iruka-sensei!" Naru said. "I mean, you told Mizuki all about it. I get the scroll from the old man, learn a jutsu inside of it, show you, and then you'll make me a Genin just like the others!"

"Mizuki said that?" Iruka asked again. Naru nodded. "Naru… There's something I need to tell you…"

However, before Iruka could go on, he saw a barrage of shuriken fly through the air. He quickly shoved Naru and Ino out of the way, just barely managing to cover himself with his arms. He fell back against the tree and slowly looked up. Mizuki was standing before him, an evil looking smirk on his face.

"N-Nani? What's going on here?" Ino asked.

"Nothing you need not concern yourself with, Ino…" Mizuki told her. "Just go on home. Naru, you stay… And give me the scroll…"

"No, Naru!" Iruka shouted. "It's a trick! Don't give it to him!"

"Shut up, Iruka!" Mizuki shouted. "Naru… You want to pass, right? Then give it to me."

Naru looked back and forth between Iruka and Mizuki. She couldn't figure it out… She was sure that this was supposed to be an exam of sorts… But Iruka was insisting that he never said to do anything like this… While Mizuki seemed to be solely focused on the scroll, and even attacked Mizuki. Something just didn't add up.

"Mizuki-sensei… Iruka-sensei…" Naru called. "Is there something important about this scroll?"

"Hai, Naru! It's full of forbidden techniques and jutsu!" Iruka shouted. "He wants them for his own gain. I'm sure of it!"

"I said shut up!" Mizuki snapped. "Don't listen to him, Naru. I'm your friend… I can trust you…"

"Naru, please!" Iruka pleaded again.

"Don't listen to him, Naru… He's been lying to you… Deceiving you." Mizuki told her. "Everyone has…"

Ino walked forward and took Naru's hand in hers. Naru slowly looked up and saw her sister, who slowly began to lead her away.

"Naru… I think we should run…" Ino suggested.

"W-Wait… What do you mean deceiving?" Naru asked.

"Naru, run!" Iruka shouted. "He is lying to you!"

"No, I'm not…" Mizuki replied. "Sit down, Naru… I think you and Ino need to know this… It's the truth this village has been hiding from you…"

Iruka watched in horror as Mizuki leapt off the tree he was standing on and walked toward the two Yamanaka sisters. He tried his best to get up, and get between the man and the girls, but he was still having trouble doing so.

"Mizuki, don't do this!" Iruka pleaded.

"Shut up, you!" Mizuki snapped. "The demon has a right to know the truth before she dies."

"D-Demon?" Naru asked. "Wh-why did you call me that?"

"Because you are one, Naru…" Mizuki answered. "Everything that you thought about yourself… is a lie. I'm sure you've heard of the Yondaime, and how he defeated the Kyuubi twelve years ago, correct?" Both girls nodded slowly. "Well, what would you say if I told you that he didn't kill it?"

"I'd say you're crazy!" Ino snapped. "We'd all be dead if the Yondaime didn't stop the creature!"

"Ahh… That's the catch…" Mizuki said. "He couldn't stop it by killing… But rather sealing… and he sealed it into a small child. You, Naru… He sealed the Kyuubi into you!"

"Nani?!" Naru shouted. "That's stupid!"

"Is it?" Mizuki asked. "Surely you've noticed how the adults all stare at you? You've noticed the glares… the coldness… the hate? It's because you have the Kyuubi in you… The creature that killed loved ones… family… friends… You are in fact the Kyuubi!"

"Naru…" Ino whispered.

"And that fool, Inoichi… Some tousan he is… Lying to you this whole time… Telling you that you were a valued member of the clan and his family. Ino… lying about being your sister…" Mizuki said. "How does it feel, Naru? How does it feel to know the truth that no one would tell you?"

Naru remained quiet. Mizuki was right. For as long as she could remember, she remembered the glares the villagers sent her. She could feel their hate and anger… And now, she knew why…

"Mizuki, you teme…" Iruka muttered as he pulled himself to his feet.

"What are you upset for, Iruka?" Mizuki asked. "You hate her too. You know it. The Kyuubi was the one who killed your parents. It was her… She did it all. She's nothing more than a murderer… She's a demon, a monster… Now kill her, and avenge them!"

"No!" Ino shouted. "You're wrong! Naru is my sister! She has never hurt anyone, or done anything dangerous! I believe in her!"

"Ino's right, Mizuki…" Iruka said. "I used to believe that Naru was the demon, but… She's not. She's just a girl! She's a girl who wants to be respected and loved… She's nothing like the Kyuubi at all."

"Foolish sentiments from a weak man." Mizuki sighed. "Very well… I will kill all three of you, and take the scroll for myself!"

Mizuki dashed forward, and grabbed a large shuriken attached to his back. He leaned back, and with a silent grin, he tossed it at the group. Naru and Ino were terrified. Their legs screamed at them to move, but neither girl could. They quickly shut their eyes, waiting for impact, but that impact never came. When both Ino and Naru opened their eyes, they saw Inoichi covering both of them with his body, and Iruka along side of him The giant shuriken was in Inoichi's back.

"T-Tousan?" Naru choked out.

"Gomen for being late, Naru-hime… Ino-hime…" he began. "But it took me a bit to find this place… Are you alright, my children?"

"Gomen, Naru…" Iruka muttered. "But he's right… I used to think of you as nothing, but the demon… But now I know better… You are a girl… A future shinobi with dreams and goals… I hope one day that you can forgive me."

Naru felt a sense of anger over take her. Slowly, she crawled out from Inoichi, glaring at Mizuki with pure hate in her eyes. The Chuunin seemed to not be effected, shrugging it off with ease.

"Please… What are you going to do, demon?" Mizuki asked. "All I have to do is kill you, and the scroll is mine."

"Shut up, you teme…" Naru muttered. "I won't die… I won't let you hurt them… or kill them. I'm going to prove you… this village wrong!"

"Bring it on then, demon!" Mizuki shouted as he ran forward. Naru's eyes widened as she jumped back, narrowly dodging an attack from a kunai in his hand. "This is where you die! And after I kill you, they will follow!"

"Shut up!" Naru shouted. She quickly slammed her fist right into Mizuki's stomach. The Chuunin winced in pain as he fell back. Naru quickly began to run through several hand signs, a look of pure determination in her eyes. "I learned this from reading that scroll! Ina Tenkuu Kiri no Jutsu!"

Inoichi's eyes widened as he heard those words leave Naru's lips. He quickly turned around and grabbed Ino, placing a hand over his mouth and nose, and one over hers. Iruka too protected himself. A strange, purple mist began to fill the air. Mizuki's eyes narrowed, as the forest around him began to vanish. He suddenly began to cough violently, everything around him blurring.

"Tousan, what is this?" Ino asked.

"A genjutsu… One that was sealed away in that scroll… But to think that she could do it…" Inoichi answered in amazement. Ino still looked confused, so Inoichi went on. "It's a bit of an odd one, but the mist isn't real. It's more of an optical illusion. However, seeingi s believing. This means that just seeing it is enough to trick the mind into thinking it's real... And the fog causes its victim to run out of air, and quickly begin to choke..."

"You demonic bitch!" Mizuki snapped while coughing. "I'll kill you!"

"No, Mizuki…" Naru muttered. "It's over! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Again, shock filled the eyes of Inoichi and the others. A massive blast of smoke burst through the mist, and from within it appeared at least fifty clones of Naru. All of them suddenly leapt through the air, and began to pummel Mizuki with great intensity. Iruka quickly covered Ino's eyes with his free hand, watching in awe as Naru fought. Soon, silence began to fill the air. They waited, as the mist slowly cleared away… All that remained was a single Naru. Mizuki was a bloody, battered mess. Inoichi slowly uncovered his nose and mouth, taking a deep breath.

"It's clear…" he said quietly. "And over."

Inoichi arose to his feet, followed closely by Ino and Iruka. Naru was completely quiet, looking at Mizuki. Her breathing was slow, and her body shaking lightly.

"Iruka… Did you see all that?" Inoichi asked.

"Hai… not one, but two high-level jutsu…" Iruka replied. "Incredible…"

"Naru!" Ino shouted. Naru flinched and slowly turned around. She saw Ino staring at her, and quickly lowered her head as she approached. Naru waited for a smack, or an attack. She thought Ino was going to assault her, or start giving her those glares the villagers did. However, she was wrong. Instead, Ino pulled her sister into a tight hug, refusing to let go. "Don't ever do something that foolish again, alright baka?"

"Y-You don't hate me?" Naru asked. "None of you?"

"Of course not, baka!" Ino snapped. "Why would I hate you?"

"Because… Kyuubi… I… I…" Naru began to protest.

"You, baka!" Ino sighed. "Just because you have an evil fluff ball inside of you, doesn't mean you are evil!"

"Ino is right." Inoichi replied. "Kyuubi would not have fought to protect us like you did. I'm proud of you, Naru-hime…"

"I am too…" Iruka agreed. He smiled as he walked to Naru and bent down on one knee. "Close your eyes, Naru… I have a present for you."

Naru did as she was told, a little bit of nervousness was floating about inside. She heard Iruka rustling around, and suddenly felt something tug at her neck. However, it was only a moment later before something was tightened on it.

"Can I open them now?" Naru asked.

"Hai." Iruka said. "Open your eyes, Naru."

Naru's eyes slowly opened, and she saw Iruka smiling at her happily. Her eyes widened as she noticed that his forehead was now bare. Slowly, her eyes looked down, and a smile graced her lips. A hitai-ate was now hanging around her neck. Iruka's hitai-ate to be exact.

"This is… But I thought I didn't graduate!" Naru shouted.

"Ah… But you proved you could make a Bunshin, a Kage Bunshin to be exact." Iruka said.

"Not only that, but you learned a powerful genjutsu, stopped someone from stealing an important scroll, and saved our lives." Inoichi added. "If that doesn't deserve a graduation, I don't know what does. Right, Iruka?"

"Hai… Welcome to the world of the shinobi, Naru." Iruka said.


	6. Chapter 6

****

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

THE SISTER YAMANAKA

CHAPTER 6: A TEAM IS BORN

It had been two days since the Mizuki incident. If one was to take a look at those involved, they would think that it never happened. Sure, Naru was a little shaken up by all she what she had learned. Who wouldn't be when they find out that the demon that almost destroyed all of Konoha was inside of them? However, at the same time she was also a bit… relieved. She understood why most of the adults in the village gave her those cold stares. One might think that that would cause Naru to fall into a depression, but instead it just seemed to the opposite. Naru suddenly became more determined at that point to gain their respect. She was going to show them that she was not just a demon like they seemed to think. Plus, to make things better, she felt that this plan seemed to go great with her other goal, to become the Hokage. What better way to show them all up, than if the demon they all hated was the most powerful shinobi in the village, and the head of it at the same time? Naru couldn't think of a better way, that was for sure. And today was going to be the next day of her climb to that position.

It was finally the day when the graduating Genin would be assigned to a team with a Jounin sensei. Inoichi had told her stories about this, as well as several missions and such that he had been on with his team. He told her that his teammates when he was a Genin were none other than Nara Shikaku and Akimichi Chouza, Shikamaru and Chouji's fathers. He explained to her that the three of them formed a strong bond during this time, and that's probably what led to the three of them being so close today. He also mentioned that he hoped that the team would live on today, through their children. Forming a team like that could be tricky though, mainly because there were two Yamanaka in this generation of Genin. However, Inoichi assured his daughters that no matter what the team formation would be, that he was still proud of his daughters for making it this far.

Naru was currently lying in bed, waiting a bit… impatiently for the alarm clock to go off. To say that she was excited about today was an understatement. Many thoughts and questions were buzzing about in her mind. She wondered who would be on her team. She wondered who her Jounin sensei would be. Naru was kind of hoping for maybe one she knew, like Kakashi. He had made sure to pay her visits and such over the years, and in a way she kind of thought of him as a family member. Maybe not quite like a brother, though that was mostly thanks to missions and such keeping him away more than probably either one would have liked. She thought of him more as an uncle. One of those ones that you see regularly, that would always have a gift for you when they dropped by. Naru smiled a bit at the thought and sat up in her bed. She glanced at the alarm clock and sighed, before picking up her pillow and covering her face with it.

"Could time move any slower today?" Naru asked herself. "The one time I want you to go off, and you won't do it!"

The clock remained silent as she sat back up again. Only the constant tick-tock of the hands was filling the room for a response. Naru's eyes narrowed as gave it her fiercest glare, almost as if the two were having a staring contest of sorts. Finally, in a moment of desperation, Naru grabbed the alarm clock and started shaking it.

"Go off, already!" she snapped. The clock must have been terrified at this moment. It responded by quickly sounding its alarm. Naru smiled happily as she shut it off, and quickly hopped out of bed. She sat the device back on her nightstand with a happy sigh. "See, that wasn't so hard, now was it?"

She quickly spun around and began to pull her sleeping clothes off quickly. The only sounds that could be heard from outside the room was the running of Naru and opening and closing of cabinets and drawers. Slowly, the door to her room creaked open. Ino put her head in to see if Naru was up and getting ready, only for Naru's sleeping shorts to fly through the air and land on her head.

"Naru… What are you doing?" Ino asked as she fully walked into the room, shutting the door behind her.

"What does it look like I'm doing, Ino-nee-chan?" Naru asked. "Today's the day! We're gonna be assigned teams today! I can't be late! No time for pranks or anything like that!"

Ino watched the display and sighed. Naru hadn't even bothered to make up her bed, and it seemed like she was so excited that it was interfering with her attempt to get dressed. That much was obvious when Naru accidentally put her shorts on, two legs going in the same hole. Ino had to stifle a laugh as her sister tripped over her feet and fell to the floor.

"Naru, you baka…" she said with a slight giggle. "I know you're excited today, but you should still try to calm down… The academy isn't going anywhere, and I'm sure Iruka-sensei won't start the assignments without you."

"Well… Maybe…" Naru replied with a light blush as Ino helped her up. "But, I wanna make a good impression for my new sensei by being on time! Or maybe even early!"

"Naru, you don't even know who it's going to be…" Ino sighed, trying her best to fix Naru's hair while she tied her hitai-ate around her neck. "Besides, you know if it's Kakashi he's going to be late…"

"Effort will still be made!" Naru replied with a cheer. "Konoha's future Hokage declares it as so!"

"Well, tousan sent me up here to let you know that breakfast is waiting on the future Hokage, and that he wants to talk to us before we leave." Ino groaned.

Naru nodded and took off out her door and down to the kitchen. Ino sighed and muttered something about troublesome… She then giggled a bit, at the thought of how much she sounded like Shikamaru just then. Ino left Naru's room, and joined her sister downstairs in the kitchen where Inoichi and Mia were both waiting. Naru's eyes were wide as she sat down at her place, a hot steaming bowl of ramen waiting on her. Ino had her favorite breakfast waiting on her as well, two fluffy blueberry pancakes with some tea. She made her way to her chair and sat down. Both girls thanked their parents and were about to eat, when suddenly Inoichi spoke up.

"Just a minute, girls." he began. "I have something I want to give you before you two eat." The girls watched as he reached into his pocket and pulled out two white boxes. They were small, nothing really fancily decorated. A small red ribbon was tied around each one. He handed each girl one of the boxes and smiled. "It's nothing much, but I thought now was the right time to give them to you."

Naru and Ino looked back at each other and shrugged. They pulled the ribbon slowly, and then opened the box. They both looked at each other again, and then back at Inoichi.

"These are…" Ino began.

"Earrings…" Naru finished.

"Hai." Inoichi replied. "They are earrings."

"With the team placements today, I was expecting new kunai or something like that…" Naru said. "Why earrings?"

"Well, they're kind of like a symbol." Inoichi explained. "When Shikaku, Chouza, and I became a team, our fathers gave us our earrings."

"But… We're not a team, tousan." Ino said. "I mean, none of us may even be on the same team."

"That's not true." Inoichi said. "I know it probably sounds corny, but… Once the two of you became Genin, you in a way became teammates. Sure, Konoha's shinobi maybe divided into squads and the like… But what you get right down to it, you're all still all on the same team. The team of Konoha."

There was a moment of silence. Naru and Ino both looked at each other. They then looked at Mia and Inoichi, and then back to each other once more.

"He's right." Naru said. "That was corny."

Inoichi face palmed and Mia broke into a fit of giggles. There was a knock on the door, and Inoichi excused himself to answer it while the girls had breakfast. Before he left though, he did notice that Naru and Ino took a moment to put the earrings in. A smile graced his lips at that. Another knock at the door sounded, and Inoichi sighed as he went to answer it. The door opened, and before him stood none other than Hyuuga Hiashi.

"Hiashi." Inoichi greeted. "To what do I owe this honor?"

"I'm here to check her chakra system." the Hyuuga replied in a stern voice.

"Gomen? Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you already do that this month, Hiashi?" Inoichi questioned.

"Orders from the council." he replied simply, making his way inside. "They insisted that it be looked over to make sure nothing has gone wrong since the previous night."

"Her, Hiashi." Inoichi said coldly. "Not it. And she has a name."

"I am not obligated to show such formalities to either of you." Hiashi replied. "I'm sure you are in fact aware of that. Now, bring it in here."

Inoichi gave him a glare that could cause the strongest man to wet themselves. Hiashi however, remained standing silently. His eyes closed, and waiting patiently. Inoichi excused himself and headed back to the kitchen where Naru and Ino had finished up and were grabbing their sandals and such.

"Naru, Hiashi is here for a check up." he said quietly.

"Nani? Didn't he already…" Mia began.

"The council wishes to make sure that everything is still normal from that night." Inoichi replied quietly.

"Do I have to?" Naru asked. "I mean, he's such a stuck up jerk, and…"

"Gomen, Naru…" Inoichi said. "But the sooner you get this done, the sooner her leaves and you get to the academy."

Naru sighed and nodded, slowly making her way into the room where Hiashi was waiting. Ino looked a bit concerned, and slowly turned to Inoichi.

"Tousan… Is the reason he keeps coming here to check her chakra because of…" Ino began.

"Hai, Ino-hime." Inoichi said quietly. "I'm afraid there are many that see her as Kyuubi. The council ordered him to do this so if anything went wrong, they'd know about it and be able to act…"

Ino seemed to understand where this was going. However, she still thought it was a waste of time. In her mind, any idiot could see that Naru was not Kyuubi… The council had to be mentally ill. It was the only logical explanation in her mind. Inoichi patted her on the shoulder and walked back into the other room. Hiashi's Byakugan was activated as he gave Naru a close, careful look from head to toe.

"Nothing seems out of the ordinary." he said quietly. "I'm finished here."

"Does that mean I can leave now?" Naru asked Inoichi.

"Hai, have a good day Naru. You too, Ino." he replied as both girls made their way past the Hyuuga and out the door.

Naru sighed as the two of them walked down the street. Ino looked over at her and smiled.

"Man, that guy is such a jerk…" Naru said. "I can't stand him…"

"Hai… But he's just doing his job." Ino replied.

"Whatever…" Naru said. "Let's hurry up and get Sakura-chan so we can get to the academy."

Ino nodded and the two made their way for Sakura's house. The girl was already waiting on them outside when they arrived, a faint smirk on her lips as she eyed Ino. Sakura was no longer the shy, quiet girl she used to be. She had grown quite talkative and such from hanging around Ino and Naru over the years. Her once shoulder-length, pink hair was now long, descending almost past her back completely. Her hitai-ate was tied in her hair like a ribbon to keep the bangs out of her eyes. Although she still had a high forehead, it didn't stick out as much as it used to since she had grown, standing the same height as Ino. Sakura was wearing a red dress, with a pair of blue, tight shorts underneath. A pair of blue shinobi sandals rested on her feet. Naru smiled brightly and waved.

"Konichiwa, Sakura-chan!" she called. "Are you ready for the team assignments today?"

"Of course, Naru-chan! Because today is the day Sasuke-kun and I will be placed on the same squads… Then there will be on way he'll be able to resist me." Sakura replied. She smirked a bit and looked over in Ino's direction. "Especially when he's free of having to look at a pig like you…"

"Get over yourself, Billboard Brow!" Ino replied, smirking back. "Why would Sasuke-kun want anyone with a forehead like that?!"

"Yeah… Well I see you forgot to wear makeup today." Sakura said back. "So clearly you must be deciding to give up on him, Ino-pig."

"I just didn't want to blow you out of the water, Haruno!" Ino snapped. "I have to play down my natural beauty and charm. Otherwise, you'll never have a chance."

"Can't you two just greet each other like normal people? Besides, what's so great about that stupid Sasuke anyways?" Naru sighed.

"BAKA!" both girls snapped at the same time. Each one smacked Naru upside the head. "Don't talk about Sasuke-kun that way!"

Naru sighed again and rubbed her head. Like most girls their age, Sakura and Ino were bit by the love bug, and developed a crush. The only problem was that their crush happened to be on the same boy, Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke was a prodigy of sorts. Well… there are no sorts about it. Sasuke was a prodigy. He was easily the best student of the graduating class, and everyone knew it. However, while most of the girls and several adults were throwing themselves all over him, Naru just thought the whole thing was ridiculous. This was probably because it started a rivalry between Ino and Sakura… And more often than not the girls would end up dragging Naru into it, which resulted in head lumps for her. Naru quickly picked herself off the ground, and began to follow after the two were quickly leaving her behind, walking in quite a quickened pace.

"So… What teams do you think we're going to be on?" she asked the two.

"It doesn't really matter to me." Ino replied. "As long as I get to be with Sasuke-kun…"

"I'll let you know how it is, Ino-pig." Sakura said. "Now if you'll excuse me, there's a seat by Sasuke-kun with my name on it!"

Naru sighed again as both Ino and Sakura took off running towards the academy. She really wasn't surprised, mind you… They weren't really as bad as most fan-girls were. Mainly because they could still hang out and carry conversations that didn't involve Sasuke. Still, after so long it was still becoming annoying… Maybe the team placements would work in Naru's advantage and things could become normal again. Or rather, as close as things can be to normal. She too quickened her pace to a run and followed behind Sakura and Ino. It didn't take long for the girls to make it to the academy and the doorway of Iruka's class. They only made it to the door, because Ino and Sakura both began to fight each other trying to be the one that got inside first. This left Naru standing there, watching them both. A small smile crossed Naru's lips as she crept forward, and then suddenly gave both of them a push. This caused both Ino and Sakura to stumble inside. Sakura managed to take this moment to pull ahead of Ino, and ran down the stairs to seat beside Sasuke.

"Konichiwa, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura greeted cheerfully. "Mind if I sit by you?"

"Hn." the boy replied quietly, as Sakura sat beside him.

Sasuke was what many would also consider the pretty boy of the class. He had black hair, which was long in the front and spiky in the back. He wore a pair of white shorts with kunai holsters and pouches along the sides of them. On his chest was a blue t-shirt with the Uchiha clan symbol on the back. His hitai-ate was tied around his forehead.

"Naru, you baka!" Ino snapped as she watched Sakura take her seat. "Next time you want to help, don't bother!"

Ino grumbled as she headed down to her usual seat. Like always, it was right beside their two old friends, Shikamaru and Chouji. Both boys had changed over the years as well. Chouji was no longer just a bit chubby. The boy had grown considerably in both height and girth. His appetite had grown along with him. Chouji was wearing a yellow t-shirt with the Akimichi symbol on the front. He had on a pair of brown shorts and a green, short-sleeved jacket. His hitai-ate was styled like a hat. There was a hole on each side of it, that had a spiky patch of brown hair coming out of each one.

As for Shikamaru, he was easily the tallest of the old group now, standing at 5'0". He had a lean build, and his hair was still in the usual style it used to be. He was wearing a pair of brown pants, a fishnet shirt, and a gray, short-sleeved shirt. His hitai-ate was tied around his arm. He yawned as Ino sat down, and slowly sat up, giving both of the girls a silent greeting. Naru smiled a bit as she noticed that both boys had a similar pair of earrings in their ears as well. Suddenly, Shikamaru coughed a bit and scratched his head while looking at Naru.

"Naru, what are you doing here?" he asked. "I mean… I thought you failed the exam, didn't you?"

"Well, it just so happens I didn't!" Naru replied. She pointed to her hitai-ate hanging around her neck and smiled. "See? Iruka-sensei gave me his just for graduating! I'm an official Genin, just like you guys."

"Except we have talent." the familiar voice of Kiba teased. Naru turned to look down at Kiba, glaring in the process. She leapt up, and stood on the table, looking at him closely. Akamaru was still sitting on his head, sleeping up until that moment. The dog yawned and looked at Naru, giving her a bark. "What are you looking at?"

"I'm wondering what you're boasting about." Naru said. "I mean, I know for a fact that you barely did any better than me."

"Please… At least I passed it in one try." Kiba replied.

"At least I don't smell like wet dog." Naru shot back.

Both of them began to glare at each other. Naru leaned a bit closer, her glare strengthening in power. However, at that moment a boy in the row in front of them stood up to stretch for a moment. He bumped right into Naru, causing her to fall forward. Luckily, Kiba's lips broke her fall. Though Naru didn't see it as such, and neither did Kiba. Both of them immediately scooted away from each other, coughing, gagging, and such in the process. Every eye in the class was watching them at this point. Some of the kids laughing at the sight, others giggling and whispering. It was at this point that Iruka entered the room. He looked around, thinking about what could have happened just now, but he shrugged it off. Iruka decided that some things were just better off not being known. He walked to the front of the room, clearing his throat in the process.

"Alright everyone, calm down and take a seat." Iruka said. "I know you all are quite excited about meeting their team and sensei. However, you all must remember that this isn't all fun and games. Starting today, you will no longer be my students. Rather, we will be comrades. All of us members of Konoha's elite… All of us shinobi. I've been glad to teach you all these years… And I hope that you will continue to make me proud as you continue your walk on the shinobi path."

"Hai, Iruka-sensei!" the Genin all replied.

Iruka was silent for a moment, and looked them all over. He then gazed down to a single piece of paper he had in his hands. This piece of paper contained the formation of the Genin squads for this year. The approach had changed for this year, which mainly occurred to due the previous night's incident. Still, the Hokage had assured him that this was for the best, and Iruka trusted in the old man's judgment.

"Alright then… I will now announce the teams. These teams will consist of three of you Genin, along with a Jounin sensei. When your sensei arrives, you shall follow him or her to their desired meeting place." Iruka said. He slowly began to read off the teams from the list. One by one, a Jounin would come into the room, and pick up the three Genin that would be on his or her team. This continued, until there were only nine of the Genin left. "Alright… Next up we have Squad Seven. It will be lead by Hatake Kakashi."

"Kakashi! Oh, I hope I'm on his team!" Naru cheered.

"Calm down, Naru…" Iruka said. "I'm afraid that you aren't on this one. Squad Seven will consist of Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Hyuuga Hinata."

"CHA! TAKE THAT INO-PIG!" Sakura shouted at Ino.

"Shut up, Billboard Brow…" Ino sighed in defeat.

There was a slight pause as the group waited for Kakashi to come in, however he was no where to be seen. Hinata looked around, poking her fingers nervously in the process. She was about a Naru's height, and a very shy girl. She had short, midnight blue hair, with a fair skin complexion. Like Naru, she had a hitai-ate around her neck. She was wearing a beige colored jacket with the Hyuuga clan symbol on the sleeves. She also wore a pair of blue pants and a matching pair of shinobi sandals.

"I-Iruka-sensei?" she called out quietly. "I… I don't s-see Kakashi-sensei anywhere…"

"Hai… I had a feeling about this…Why don't you three wait here in the front row, and I'll call out the rest of the teams while you wait." Iruka replied. The members of the team did as they were told, and Iruka continued. "Next up we have Squad Eight. It will be led by Yuhi Kurenai, and consist of Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, and Yamanaka Naru."

"N-NANI?!" Naru cried as the team was read off. "Iruka-sensei! This has to be wrong! I can't be on the same team with that… that… Flea bag!"

"Flea bag?!" Kiba shouted back.

"That's what I said! And I'm not talking about Akamaru!" Naru replied. "Iruka-sensei! Can't you do anything to change the teams at all?!"

"No." the boy named Shino replied to Naru. He was wearing a green coat with a high collar, one that covered his mouth completely. His hair was brown and spiky, and he was also wearing a pair of brown pants and blue shinobi sandals. His hitai-ate was tied around his forehead, and a pair of sunglasses covered his eyes. "These teams were finalized by the Hokage… Iruka-sensei can't change them, and the Hokage won't unless he sees the need to."

"Shino is right, Naru." Iruka said. "I'm afraid you'll just have to get over it."

Naru and Kiba both groaned at the answer. At that moment, the door to the class opened, and in walked a female Jounin. She had long, black hair and scarlet-red eyes. She was wearing a dress that was made of white material, almost resembling bandages of sorts. Underneath that was a red, one-sleeved shirt. She wore a pair of blue shinobi sandals, and her hitai-ate was around her forehead. She smiled as she looked the three over that were assigned to her and nodded.

"Squad Eight?" she called. They all nodded. "Please follow me."

Kiba, Shino, and Naru all followed Kurenai out of the room. Naru looked back for a moment at Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji. All of them gave her a wave, and she sighed before continuing following her new team. Kurenai led the three of them out of the academy, and over to Training Ground #8. It was a rather well-kept training ground. Three large logs stood amongst the ground, ones which Naru determined to be for target practice and taijutsu training. There was also a small pond in the area with several trees and bushes. There was even a small flower garden, one that appeared to have been planted not that long ago. Naru's attention shifted from the area back to Kurenai as she stopped before the logs.

"This is a good spot. Why don't you have a seat?" Kurenai suggested.

The three of them nodded and took a seat. Shino remembered the rather noisy encounter the two shared earlier. So he took the chance to make sure that he was seated in between Kiba and Naru. Kurenai smiled at the group and walked forward.

"Konichiwa, everyone." Kurenai began. "And welcome to Squad Eight. I look forward to working along side of all of you, and hope that we can all grow stronger together. Before we begin, I think we should all take a moment to get to know each other."

"Know each other?" Kiba asked. "Like what?"

"Just general things, such as hobbies, likes, dislikes, and goals." Kurenai explained. "I'll begin. My name is Yuhi Kurenai. My hobbies include gardening, reading, and visiting with friends. I like flowers, good books, and tea. I dislike quitters, those who don't try, laziness, and perverts. My goal… Well, I guess that would be you guys."

"Nani?" Naru replied in question. "What do you mean?"

"Well… It just so happens that you three are my first Genin squad." Kurenai explained. "And I couldn't be happier if you all happened to be a successful one at that. But enough about me… I want to learn about you. You with the dog, how about you go next."

"Alright! My name is Inuzuka Kiba, and this is my partner Akamaru!" Kiba began, while Akamaru barked happily as well. "My hobbies are hanging out with Akamaru, training with him, and learning as much about dogs as I can. My dislikes… I guess those would be cats, people who are mean to dogs… And annoying, loud, blondes…" Naru shot Kiba a fierce glare, but he ignored her. "My goal… I guess that would be to become a successful shinobi, and one day to be the head of the Inuzuka clan!"

"I see… A fine goal." Kurenai replied. She then pointed to Shino. "How about you?"

"My name is Aburame Shino." he began. "My hobby is insect watching. I like insects, dango, and warm summer nights. I dislike people who harm insects, or are afraid of them before giving them a chance. My goal is to one day be the head of my clan, and to be a strong shinobi of the leaf."

"Very good." Kurenai said. She looked over at Naru and smiled. "How about you?"

"My pleasure! My name is Yamanaka Naru!" she began. "My hobbies are pranks, hanging out with my friends, and ramen! I like Ino-nee-chan, my friends, ramen, Iruka-sensei, and hanging out with my tousan! I hate the three minutes it takes for ramen to cool, Hiashi's monthly check-ups, and people who smell like wet dogs. As for a goal… I'm going to become the strongest kunoichi in the village, and one day take my place as the Hokage!"

"Hokage… That'll be the day…" Kiba said with a chuckle.

"What did you say?!" Naru shouted.

"Now, now…" Kurenai sighed. "Everyone calm down… That's a fine dream, Naru. All of them were. And I'd like to be able to help you all. However, before the formal training can begin, we have to take care of something else… Survival exercises to be exact."

"Survival exercises? That doesn't sound so hard… I mean, we did those all the time back at the academy." Kiba said. He paused and glanced at Naru with a smirk on his face. "Some of us better than others."

"Shut it, Flea Bag!" Naru snapped.

"I said calm down." Kurenai said sternly. She glared at Naru and Kiba, causing them both to quiet down almost immediately. "Now, these will not be normal survival exercises like you all had at the academy… The main reason is because the one you'll have to survive against is me. I suppose it's not so much a survival exercise as much as it is a test."

"A test?!" Naru shouted. "You've gotta be kidding me?!"

"I agree with her for once…" Kiba sighed. "Why do we have to take another test?! I mean, we already took the Genin exam! There shouldn't be another test!"

"Unless… That wasn't the true test." Shino mused.

"What are you talking about?" Naru asked.

"It is just as I said, Naru." Shino said quietly. "I thought that Iruka-sensei's requirements for graduation were a bit… easy."

"Shino is right." Kurenai said. "I suppose an easier way to explain it, would be to say that the Genin exam is comprised of two steps. Step one, the test Iruka gave you is more of a way of weeding out the weak ones. This left us with the ones that we used form the Genin squads, those of you that showed the most potential. However, now we have to weed out the weaker members of those who passed the first exam."

"Nani? You mean that we all can't just be squads?" Naru asked.

"I'm afraid not, Naru." Kurenai replied. "There were a total of twenty-seven of you that made it to these squads. However, only nine of you can pass and become official Genin squads. This means that the next test has a 66 chance of failure… And the eighteen of you that don't pass will be sent back to the academy for more training."

There was a moment of silence as the group appeared to be taking all the information in. All three of the Genin looked at each other and then her. Even Akamaru seemed to tense up from learning this.

"That's a lot of pressure to throw on us, ya know that?" Kiba asked.

"Gomen, but it is the truth." Kurenai replied. "Knowing this, I want to ask you now. Do you all three wish to partake in the test?"

Another moment of silence. Kiba, Naru, and Shino all appeared to be thinking it through. Kurenai couldn't blame them. There had been many hopeful people whose shinobi careers ended with this test. She watched as Naru slowly looked up, and a determined gleam in her eyes.

"I'll do it." she announced. "I'm not about to go back after everything else we've already been through. Especially not with my dream of Hokage on the line!"

"Well, if she's gonna do it, we definitely will!" Kiba cheered, with Akamaru barking as well. "It's gonna take more than that to scare me off!"

"If my team is comfortable in proceeding, then I will as well." Shino added.

"Excellent…" Kurenai replied. She smiled at the three, happy to see they were all willing to move on. "The test will be held here, in exactly two hours. Make sure that you prepare, and have as many of your shinobi tools with you as you can. I will see you all then."

The three of them watched as Kurenai disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Naru sighed a bit, and stood up. Just when she was expecting things to get a bit easier, another test gets thrown in her face… Another stepping stone in the path to her dream. Unfortunately for her, the moment was ruined by the growling of her stomach. A rather loud growling that was not missed by her teammates.

"Well… Seeing as how we have two hours…" Shino began. "Would you two care to join me for lunch? It could serve us well… Perhaps give us time to know each other better."

"Just one condition!" Naru declared. "Ramen!"

"Ramen? Is that all you ever eat?" Kiba asked.

"There's always room for ramen!" Naru replied.

"I am fine with that." Shino said. He began to walk towards the ramen stand, stopping for a moment. "Shall we?"

Naru nodded excitedly and followed Shino. Kiba on the other hand, sighed. Two hours just didn't seem like enough time to him, and he wasn't looking too forward to going back to the academy if they failed. Shino seemed dependable to him, but Naru… Well, he had seen the girls actions more often than not. That was more than enough room for concern in his book. He decided that he'd just have to hope Iruka's decision to allow Naru to pass was right.


	7. Chapter 7

****

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

THE SISTER YAMANAKA

CHAPTER 7: A TEAM IS TESTED

"Let's hear it, Hiashi." Inoichi told the Hyuuga again. "Something is wrong, or else you would've left right after her check up."

The Hyuuga gave Inoichi a cold stare. He hadn't been comfortable with this whole thing since it began. Of course, the ones directly involved wouldn't listen to his warnings. Now, thanks to that, he was being forced to be the bad guy in this whole ordeal. Just because one is logical in thinking, that should not make them the villain. Hiashi believed that more than anything else. Still, he was bound by the Hokage and the council's orders. So for the time being, he had no choice.

"The seal is weakening." Hiashi said simply.

"What do you mean?" Inoichi asked.

"Exactly what I said." Hiashi replied. "While it is too early to figure out just what that will mean… I must let the council know."

Inoichi bit his lip a bit to learn this. Naru had never been popular among the majority of them. That much was made obvious by all the standards and rules they put down just for him to adopt the girl as a baby. They could use this news carry out their will. They could possibly go as far as to have the girl killed, before summoning Jiraiya. Some would probably see that as an underhanded tactic, dishonest for sure. However, Inoichi wouldn't put it past them.

"No…" Inoichi said.

"Gomen?" Hiashi asked.

"You can't tell them. Not yet." Inoichi repeated.

"Yamanaka, I have a job to do." Hiashi said. "I do not need remind you that I warned you such a thing could happen. Had we had gone through with my idea, such concerns wouldn't be here now."

"Hear me out, Hyuuga." Inoichi shot back. "You and I both know that the council will probably want to take action immediately. I doubt that that action will involve contacting Jiraiya-sama in any form."

"Such a thing is not my concern." Hiashi spat. "That thing you call Naru is nothing more than a ticking time bomb. You, I, the council, the Hokage, everyone knows it. Everything has a limit, that seal included. I will not be held responsible, because you were to busy protecting a demon!"

"You…" Inoichi muttered.

The Yamanaka charged at Hiashi, anger burning in his eyes. Hiashi remained calm as the man charged, his Byakugan eyes activating in silence. He nimbly side-stepped Inoichi's attack, quickly spinning around in the process. Hiashi's hand shot out, grabbing Inoichi by his left arm, and then striking him quickly in the joint connecting his forearm to his upper portion of his arm.

"Listen well, Yamanaka." Hiashi said quietly. "Despite what affection you have for that thing, I will not let it stop me in my duty. I will warn the council that a closer eye needs to be kept on it. I will not put the village and my clan at risk because of this."

"Your clan…" Inoichi muttered. "Tell me, Hiashi… If this was your child, what would you do?"

There was a passing of silence between the two. Inoichi staring into Hiashi's eyes. Hiashi glaring back into Inoichi's. He still retained his grip on the Yamanaka's arm, and Byakugan staying active. The silence was interrupted by a clearing of throat. Both men slowly turned to see Mia standing in the doorway of the den, a concerned look on her face. Hiashi released Inoichi's arm and deactivated his Byakugan. Inoichi stepped away from the Hyuuga, glaring at him one more time before facing his wife.

"Gomen for interrupting… whatever the hell was going on in here…" Mia said. "But I thought you both should know Hokage-sama is here…"

--

Meanwhile, Shino, Naru, and Kiba were making their way back to Training Field #8. Unfortunately for Shino, the lunch wasn't as productive as he hoped. In fact, Naru and Kiba spent most of it simply annoying the hell out of each other. He wasn't really sure what to make of the two… Kiba was a Inuzuka, so Shino was sure he'd be of use. However, Naru was different. Shino remembered the girl had failed the exam… Yet she was somehow along side of them today. So, as the group was leaving the ramen stand, he made it a point to ask his question, to which Naru was happy to explain. She did leave out certain points, such as Kyuubi, but the girl told them everything else that had happened that night.

"So after that, I used the Kage Bunshin technique and kicked Mizuki's sorry ass up one side and down the other!" the girl said excitedly. "And because of that, Iruka allowed me to graduate!"

"No way!" Kiba remarked. "You don't honestly expect me to believe that dobe of the class could pull off a jutsu like that?!"

"I can, and I can do it again!" Naru shot back. "And don't call me dobe!"

"At any rate…" Shino said interjecting before the two could have another argument. "Iruka-sensei believed Naru to be ready to become a Genin. We have no choice, but to trust in his judgment on the matter."

"You're a straight-to-the-point kinda guy, huh?" Naru asked Shino.

"I am merely speaking the truth." Shino replied.

The three remained in silence as they returned to the training field. Kurenai was already there waiting on them. She smiled and waved as the three entered the field.

"Glad to see you all came back." she greeted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kiba asked.

"There have been times when a team did not return for the test." Kurenai explained. "I suppose the thought of failing and being sent back to the academy didn't sit well with them…"

"Well, that's not the case with me!" Naru replied. "I'm gonna take that test, and pass it with flying colors!"

"I see… Then I hope you are able to meet your goal. At any rate, I will now explain the test." Kurenai said. The three Genin watched as she reached into a pouch around her waist, and pulled out a single stone. The stone wasn't much different from your basic rock, save for one thing. The center of it had a design painted on it, that being the leaf symbol of Konoha in a bright red. She held it up for the three of them to get a better look at it. "As you can see, I have single stone I carry with me. This will be involved in the test. I want you to be able to find this stone."

"Nani?" Naru asked. "Gomen, but… There's only one stone, and three of us."

"That's part of the catch, Naru." Kurenai replied. "Only one of you will be clearly able to find it and it bring it back. That means that one of you will become my student, while the other two will go back to the academy… Or simply quit."

"So, not only do we have to beat the odds with the others taking these tests… But we have to beat each other too…" Kiba said. A smirk came to his lips as he looked over at Naru. "Well… This shouldn't be too hard then."

"What's that supposed to mean, Flea-Bag?!" Naru demanded.

"Come on, ya dobe." Kiba taunted. "You remember playing hide and seek when we were younger, right?"

"Hai… I begged Sakura not to let you in, but she said it wasn't as fun without you." Naru sighed.

"Well, you suck at seeking. It's not like it'll take much to knock you out of the running this time!" Kiba exclaimed. The boy began to laugh at the thought. However, at the same time Naru was glaring daggers at him, and responded with a quick punch to the back of the head. "Ow! What the hell is your problem?!"

"You are!" Naru replied, pointing dramatically at Kiba. "That's why I'm going to make sure I'm the one to find the rock!"

"Alright, calm down you two. There's more to this test than just finding this rock." Kurenai sighed. The Genin watched as she reached into another pouch and pulled out a small alarm clock of sorts. She wound it up, and sat it down on a stump beside her. "I have sat this clock to go off at exactly five this afternoon. That gives you three hours to track down the stone. Are there any questions?"

The group simply shook their heads in response. Kurenai nodded and quickly tossed the rock into the air. The Genin watched as everything seemed to happen in a clockwork manner. No sooner had Kurenai tossed the rock into the air, did a bird swoop down and catch it in its talons, flying off from the training grounds and into the forest surrounding the village. Kurenai chuckled a bit and turned back to the three.

"Well… That was a bit unexpected." she mused. "At any rate, the test begins now. Good luck, everyone."

Kiba smirked as he leapt forward. Akamaru followed closely behind and he pointed towards the sky.

"You saw that bird, right boy?" Kiba asked the pup. The dog barked loudly, wagging his tail in the process. "That's right! Now let's get moving!"

The took off after the bird, Akamaru leading with Kiba following closely behind. Naru took off close behind, ensuring the boy that she was going to be the one to find the rock. Shino simply watched on for a moment and sighed, before he chased after his teammates. This left Kurenai alone on the training field.

"This may be more interesting than I thought…" she mused. She pulled a book out from a pouch and sat down in the grass. "At the very least, it gives me a chance to catch up on my reading… I wonder if they'll be able to figure out the real purpose of the test."

The team was in hot pursuit of the bird. The winged creature was still holding onto the rock tightly, and it appeared to not have any intention of releasing it. To make things worse, the bird was in fact heading inside the forest. The location wasn't so much the problem. After all, the three had been in the forest more than once. However, managing to track down the bird could prove to be difficult in the forest.

"Crap… This may make it a bit harder…" Naru sighed.

"Maybe for you!" Kiba snapped. "But not when I got the best tracker in the village on my side, right Akamaru?"

"Big deal, so you got someone to do the hard part for you…" Naru said. She quickly picked up her pace and stuck her leg under Kiba, causing him to trip. "But that's something I can work around!"

Kiba cursed as both Naru and Shino moved past him. Akamaru waited back with his master to make sure he was alright, but only for a moment. Kiba ordered the dog to move with the hunt, and he would catch up as soon as he could. The pup barked in response and ran into the woods.

"This isn't getting us anywhere!" Naru shouted. "If that thing won't drop the rock, I'll make him!"

The blonde quickly reached into a pouch on her belt, and pulled out a hand full of shuriken. She tossed them at the bird as quickly as she could, the said bird just barely dodging them. It cawed in response, and suddenly swooped down towards Naru, causing the blonde to let out a small yelp as she ducked underneath it. Naru quickly rose back to her feet and tossed another handful of shuriken at the bird, striking it and causing it to fall to the ground. Its talons released the stone as it fell, which began to roll down a side path in the wood.

"At least you managed to stop the bird…" Shino sighed.

Naru was about to reply, when Akamaru ran past the girl. Her eyes widened as the dog began to run circles around her. Shino too watched in curiosity, his eyebrows raising just a bit. Eventually the dog barked happily, and began to run down the path in which the rock had bounced down. Naru was about to give chase, when she suddenly fell forward. Her eyes widened as she gazed down at her legs, which were now wrapped in a small wire of sorts. Kiba dashed past the two Genin, but gave a wink to Naru as he did so.

"Have a nice trip, Yamanaka?!" he chuckled as he ran down the path.

"That rotten, flea-bitten, jerk!" Naru shouted as she grabbed her kunai. She quickly cut the wire, and rose to her feet. "I'm not going to lose to him!"

Shino sighed again. He watched as Naru dashed down the path that Kiba and Akamaru went down. Then, he too followed them. It was a steep hill, one that was easy to lose your footing if you were not careful. Naru learned this quickly when she slipped and slid the rest of the way down. She landed with an oomph and a curse, slowly picking herself off the ground shortly afterwards. Her eyes widened at the sight she saw.

"You've got to be kidding me…" she sighed.

The hill that the team had ran down lead to a riverbank. What caused Naru's sudden depression however, was the fact that the riverbank was covered in various rocks. This meant that the stone the team was after was now perfectly camouflaged amongst the others along the bank. Naru turned to see Kiba shoulder's slumped and a sigh escape his lips.

"Great… Now what the hell are we supposed to do?" he asked.

"We find the stone." Shino said quietly as he joined them. "Remember, Kurenai-sensei marked the rock to look different than a normal one. So it should not be impossible to track down."

"You heard him, Akamaru! Let's find it and quick!" Kiba ordered.

The dog barked and began to sniff along the ground. Kiba followed the pup, and began to pick up several rocks, looking at each one carefully before tossing them aside. It wasn't long before the entire team was scanning the riverbank, all for a single stone. Time just seemed to crawl on at this point. Naru had never found anything so important, but so boring at the same time. After what she thought to be probably the three-hundredth stone, an idea popped into her head. She smirked as she reached over and began to shuffle through the pile of stones she had already gone through, until she found one that resembled the one she wanted. A giggle escaped her lips, one that caught the attention of both Shino and Kiba.

"What the hell are you laughing at, Naru?" Kiba asked.

"Simple, my dear Mutt-Brain!" Naru stated proudly. "I found Kurenai-sensei's rock!"

A moment of silence seemed to pass the group for a moment. Kiba rose from his pile of stones, and walked over to Naru. He quickly snatched the stone from the girl's hand and looked it over, before Naru snatched it back and glared at him.

"Baka… That is not Kurenai-sensei's stone!" Kiba snapped.

"Of course not!" Naru replied. "Yet…"

"Nani?" Kiba remarked.

"It's simple, Dog Breath…" Naru told him. She reached into a pocket on her shorts and pulled out a red marker. She began to scribble a design on the marker, her grinning as she did so. After a moment or so, she stopped and rose to her feet. "There! I give you Kurenai-sensei's stone!"

What was once just an average stone, was now almost a perfect copy of Kurenai's rock. Kiba took the stone from the girl again and looked it over, before looking back at Naru again.

"You're going to try and trick her?" Kiba asked.

"There's no try about it! I mean, look at this rock! It's a perfect match for the one she sent us after!" Naru said proudly. "Anyone would fall for it! Especially when it's being done by the Prank Queen of Konoha!"

At this point, Shino rose and walked over to Naru. He too looked at the stone carefully. After a moment, he shook his head, sighing in the process.

"It will not work." he stated.

"How do you know?!" Naru asked.

"I'm sure Kurenai-sensei has been writing and drawing for a long enough time to know whether something is her work or not." the Aburame explained. "Also, do you remember her introduction? Kurenai-sensei stressed that she hates cheaters. She can most likely easily tell, and if you bring her that, it's cheating."

"I guess you're right…" Naru mused, tossing the rock into the river.

"Just keep looking for the rock." Shino replied. "We should find it soon."

--

To say that Inoichi was surprised would be an understatement. After all, it wasn't everyday that the Sandaime came to your house unexpected. The old man looked at the scene before him, and cleared his throat as he walked inside the den.

"Gomen…" he said quietly. "I hope I was not interrupting anything important?"

"No…" Inoichi replied. "Everything is fine. Please, take a seat and make yourself comfortable, Hokage-sama."

"Arigato, Inoichi-san." the old man replied. He took a seat in a chair, and gave a nod to both Hiashi and Inoichi. The two slowly moved to the couch in the den, and sat as well. "I heard about the check-up the council ordered you to give Naru, Hiashi-san. I'd like to hear the findings."

"Very well, Hokage-sama." Hiashi began. "As I told Inoichi, the seal is becoming weaker…"

"Weaker?" the Sandaime replied. "I see…"

"Hai." Hiashi said. "It is still to early to see what this means, but we should still take the proper precautions. I have told Inoichi that the council should be informed at once."

"And I disagree!" Inoichi retorted to the Hyuuga. "Hokage-sama, you know as much as I do what could happen if they learn this!"

"I do, Inoichi…" the Sandaime sighed. "However, I also know that they have the right to know, in order to ensure the village's safety."

"So we shall tell them, then?" Hiashi asked.

"We shall… Though not just yet." the Sandaime said. "We need to gather more information about the seal and study it. We need to find out all the possibilities that could occur."

"So, we wait?" Hiashi replied, a bit of displeasure in his voice.

"Hai. The seal shouldn't be weak enough at this point to cause major concern." the Hokage replied. "I fear that if the council did know about this, an unnecessary panic would rise. That is why I shall send for Jiraiya to return to the village. With both you and he looking at the seal and her chakra system, we should be able to determine the proper actions to be taken, Hiashi-san."

"If that is your wish…" Hiashi replied. "However, I warn you now. Should this pose a problem for any member of my clan, or Konoha as a whole. I will not hesitate to carry things out my way… If you will excuse me, Hokage-sama."

Hiashi politely bowed and left the home. The old man sighed for a moment, removing his hat and rubbing his forehead. Inoichi could tell the man was getting tired, and as much as he probably tried to show it, his age was showing.

"Arigato, Hokage-sama…" Inoichi told him. "This means a lot to me."

"There is no need in that sort of thing, Inoichi-san." the Sandaime sighed. "However, I can only keep this a secret for so long… As much as it pains me to say, Hiashi is right about this… I will send word to Jiraiya immediately. He will be the best chance we have at this moment to help Naru…"

--

"I FOUND IT!" Naru shouted in success.

"This better not be another stupid idea…" Kiba muttered.

"Shut it, Flea Bag!" Naru snapped. She proudly rose to her feet and walked to the boy. Sure enough in her hand was the stone with the right markings on it. "I found that stone, and now I'm gonna be the one to pass the test!"

Naru laughed in triumph. She raised the stone high in the air, as if showing it off for the world to see. Her moment in the sun wasn't to last long though. For at that moment, a white, furry blur leapt through the air and clutched the stone in its teeth. Naru turned around and her eyes widened to see Akamaru holding on to the stone tightly. Kiba was petting the dog's head as he released the stone into the boy's free hand.

"Nice work, Akamaru…" Kiba told him. "Now if you excuse me, I have a test to pass!"

The boy and dog took off running towards the village. Naru was hot on his trail. Shino sighed as he rose to his feet and followed behind. This whole thing just seemed so troublesome… There had to be some catch to this… Something that they just weren't seeing. Suddenly, his eyes widened. It him right then and there. However, he had to pick up the pace and manage to catch Naru and Kiba before it was too late. While Shino was trying to catch up to the two, Naru and Kiba were in the midst of an epic struggle for the stone. Kiba would have the stone for one moment, but then Naru would strike managing to rip it out of his hand. This kind of thing continued for quite a bit, right until they found themselves struggling for the stone, one of them with a hand on a side.

"Give it up, dobe… I'm passing this test!" Kiba shouted.

"Not before I do, Dog Butt!" Naru snapped back.

Their hands must've been getting sweaty, because at that moment the stone squeezed out of their hands. The stone skipped along the street, rolling right before a small boy and two of his friends. Naru and Kiba seemed to both freeze at this moment, staring at the sight.

"Hey… What kinda rock is this?" the boy asked. He was wearing a yellow t-shirt with a red swirl in the front of it. He had a blue scarf around his neck and a pair of gray shorts on. A strange helmet was on his head, with a patch of brown hair sticking out of the back of it. "Hey, Udon! Have you ever seen a stone like this?"

"I don't think so, Konohamaru…" the boy beside of him asked as he looked the stone over. He was wearing a long-sleeved, blue shirt and brown shorts. A pair of rather large glasses were over his eyes, and a small trail of snot could be seen hanging out of his nose. "What about you Moegi?"

"Nope!" the girl of the group replied. She was wearing a red dress, with a pink t-shirt underneath. She had red, almost orange hair that she kept up in pigtails. "I've never seen one like that!"

"It must be some kinda super rare, one of a kind stone!" Konohamaru shouted.

"Do you really think so?" Moegi asked.

"Of course! I mean, if no one has ever seen one like that before, then what else could it mean?!" Konohamaru replied.

Naru shoved Kiba out of the way and ran to the group of kids. She placed a huge smile on her face, one to show the kids that she had no thoughts of being mean to them. After all, kids liked it when adults were nicer to them.

"Hey! Arigato for finding that stone for me!" Naru told him. "I lost it earlier because of that jerk behind me. Would you mind giving it back?"

Naru smiled more, trying to show that she was a friendly person. Konohamaru looked down at the rock and then back at her before shaking his head quickly.

"No way, lady!" he shouted. "Why would I give a rock like this to just anybody?!"

"Please…" Naru begged in a very cute sounding voice. "Wouldn't you like to give it to a pretty girl?"

"Sure I would." Konohamaru said with a nod. "Do you know one?!"

Naru fell over at hearing this, earning several odd looks from the people in the area. A series of various curses escaped her lips as she picked herself up. Luckily, none of them could be heard over the laughing pouring from Kiba's mouth. Naru shot the boy a glare, and she turned back to Konohamaru.

"Look, kid…" Naru began. "I need that as a shinobi of Konoha. The future of the entire village rests on it!"

"Give me a break!" Konohamaru shouted. "I may be little, but I'm not stupid! How can a rock save the future of the village?!"

"Because… If I don't have that rock, I can't pass the second part of the Genin exam, which means I won't become an official shinobi of the village, which means I'll never get to become the Hokage!"

"Hokage?!" Konohamaru asked in surprise. "You mean you wanna be the Hokage too?"

"Too?" Naru asked.

"That's my dream! I wanna become the Hokage too!" Konohamaru exclaimed. "If a stone like this has the power to do that, then there's no way I'm gonna let you have it! Udon, Moegi! Let's get moving, and fast!"

The three kids turned to run. Naru quickly leapt at the three, tackling Konohamaru in the process. However, the boy quickly tossed it to Moegi. He cheered as the two ran away, before flicking Naru in the nose. This caused the girl to loosen her grip on the boy enough for him to squeeze out. He ran in the direction his friends did, sticking his tongue out at Naru as he did so.

"Good going…" Kiba sighed. "Now I have to chase down a bunch of kids…"

"Please… I told you once that I'm not going to let you pass!" Naru replied.

"How about both of you calm down for a moment." Shino said, suddenly arriving on the scene.

"Shino?!" Naru called. "Where have you been?"

"Following both of you around for the most part." the boy replied. "And now I'd like you both to just stop and listen to me for a moment. I think we've been going about this test the wrong way."

"Nani? What are you talking about?" Kiba asked.

"Think about it for a moment." Shino answered, adjusting his sunglasses a bit. "After we passed Iruka-sensei's test, what did he do?"

"He assigned us to these teams…" Naru replied. "But what does that have to do with anything."

"If you stop and think, plenty." Shino said. "Remember, he told us that these teams were formed by the Hokage, and he couldn't rearrange the members or formations. Now, each of these teams were formed in to three member squads… Four if you count the Jounin leader, correct?"

"Hai…" they both replied to the Aburame.

"Then, Kurenai-sensei assigned us this test." Shino continued. "To track down a single stone, and bring it back to her. However, she told us that because of the number only one of us would pass."

"We already know all of this, Shino…" Naru muttered.

"Alright, then tell me." Shino said. "What sense would it make then, for these teams to be assigned, if the Jounin sensei would follow through by breaking them up?"

"It wouldn't…" Naru exclaimed quietly. "Then that means…"

"It was part of Kurenai-sensei's test…" Kiba finished. "Not just to find a stone, but to test if we would be able to work as a team!"

"Correct." Shino said simply. "So, we only have half of an hour left to get the stone and bring it back to her. What do you say we work together to do so?"

"Well, it sounds like a plan." Kiba mused. "But it'll be tough… I mean, those kids have it now."

"Then we'll just have to track them down and get it back. And all of us have the techniques we need." Shino said. He pointed over to the ground at a tissue. "Did one of them drop that?"

"That Udon kid!" Naru replied. "He looked like he had a cold from Hell… So he probably had it to blow his nose or something."

"I know where this is going." Kiba said. He walked over and picked up, whistling for Akamaru to come too. "Alright, boy… Give it a sniff and lead us to them."

The dog sniffed the tissue and then the ground. He barked loudly, and began to run down the street, Kiba and the others following right behind him. The ran along the road, until they arrived at the area of the training grounds again. It wasn't the same one that Kurenai was waiting at, but it was close. The three Genin and dog paused in the bushes, slowly looking out.

"It seems Akamaru found our prey." Shino said quietly. "Now for step two… All we have to do is wait for the right moment…"

Meanwhile, Konohamaru was happily looking the stone over. He and his friends were completely unaware that Naru and the others were in the area. Instead, thoughts of becoming the next Hokage were filling his head, and how according to that blonde girl, this stone would be his key to doing so.

"Once the old man sees this stone, I'm gonna be the Hokage for sure!" he cheered.

"Are you sure, Konohamaru?" Udon asked. "It seems like there should be more to it…"

"No way! You heard that girl… She said that this stone was her key to becoming Hokage!" the leader of the group said. "I mean, just look at it! It's so… Shiny and fancy! It even has the symbol of Konoha on it! Everything just… fits!"

"Well, I can't see!" Moegi declared. "Konohamaru, let me have a better look at it!"

She surprised the boy by trying to grab it out of his hand. Instead of grabbing it though, she accidentally knocked it out of Konohamaru's hands. The stone hit the grass, rolling a bit towards the bushes.

"Be careful, Moegi!" Konohamaru snapped. "You're gonna mess it up!"

"Gomen, Konohamaru!" Moegi replied, rubbing her head sheepishly. "I'll go get it real quick!"

The girl rose to her feet and ran to the bushes and the stone. She bent down to pick it up, examining it carefully for anything that might have been wrong with it. However, has she flipped it over a scream escaped her lips and she dropped it back to the ground. Konohamaru and Udon quickly rose to their feet, and ran to the girl.

"Moegi?!" Udon declared. "What is it? What's wrong?!"

"Th-That rock!" she shouted. "It's covered in… in…"

"In what?" Konohamaru asked.

"In gross, icky, yucky bugs!" Moegi shrieked.

"Are you kidding me?!" Konohamaru asked. "All that 'cause of some bugs?! I'll get it…"

He walked forward and bent down to pick it up. However, right when his hand touched it, a familiar, tanned, female hand touched it as well. Konohamaru looked up to see Naru grinning at him just like before. His eyes narrowed as he clutched the rock. Naru too clutched it, but her face remained just as happy and friendly.

"Looks like you found my rock again!" she said cheerfully. "Arigato!"

"I told you, I'm taking the rock!" Konohamaru replied. "There's no way I'm gonna let you take it and become Hokage!"

"Really?" Naru asked. "Then how about giving it to one of my friends?"

"I said no!" Konohamaru replied.

However, right after he stated that he felt Udon tap him on the shoulder. Konohamaru looked over his shoulder at the boy. He was standing, shaking a bit and pointing ahead of him. Konohamaru blinked in confusion, and slowly looked where he was pointing. His eyes widened as he saw not just Naru, but five identical copies of her standing in front of him. He quickly spun around and saw five more. The three children had been completely surrounded by her.

"Now… Like I was saying before…" Naru said quietly. "May I please have my rock back?"

"F-Fine!" Konohamaru shouted as he let go of the rock. He, Udon, and Moegi quickly ran out of the circle as fast as they could. "But don't think this is over! You are officially my rival for the title of Hokage!"

Naru chuckled as the kids ran away. Her Kage Bunshin all quickly puffed away in a cloud of smoke, leaving only the original Naru. Shino, Kiba, and Akamaru all climbed out the bushes, and Naru turned to them with a smile.

"Mission complete!" she cheered.

"Alright!" Kiba replied. "But… What are you gonna do now, Naru? I mean, you just got a boyfriend and all…"

"Shut up!" Naru shouted, punching the boy in the back of the head.

"Let's just get the stone back to Kurenai-sensei…" Shino sighed.

The two agreed, and the team made a dash for Training Ground #8. Kurenai was still reading her book at the time. She paused, glancing over at the clock. The alarm would be going off any moment now, and she still hadn't seen or heard from the group. She slowly sat up and stretched, a small yawn escaping her lips. It was at that moment though, that Naru's shouting could be heard.

"Kurenai-sensei! Kurenai-sensei!" the blonde girl shouted. "We got it! We got the rock!"

The three arrived in front of Kurenai, and Naru placed the rock in the Jounin's hand. It was at that moment that the alarm clock went off. The three of them and the small pup had just barely managed to beat the time limit. Kurenai smiled at them as she examined the rock, taking the time make sure it was the right one. She gave a nod and turned back to her team.

"Very good…" Kurenai began. "However… What do you mean we got the rock? I thought I told you that only one would pass…"

"Ha! That's where we got you!" Naru replied.

"What do you mean?" Kurenai asked. The three of them explained the whole incident to the woman. The chase through the forest, having to search for the rock at the riverbank, Konohamaru's stealing of it, and finally how all three of them came together to get the rock back and bring it back to her as a team. Kurenai smiled as she heard the tale and nodded. "Excellent work… You all seem to finally understand what the point of the test was. It was not just to test abilities, but also to test your abilities to work as a team. I'm proud of all three of you."

"Heh… It was nothing!" Kiba chuckled.

"Maybe because you didn't do much of the work…" Naru muttered.

The two glared at each other again. Shino sighed once more. Kurenai chuckled and shook her head.

"Now, now… Calm down…" she said. "Just because the test is over doesn't mean that you can all just forget what you've learned during it. You all must be tired, so I'm going to call it a day. You may all go home and get some rest."

The three nodded. Kiba and Akamaru began to run from the training field, proud of their accomplishment. Shino gave a respectful nod and exited as well. Naru was about to leave, when Kurenai suddenly cleared her throat. The blonde turned around, looking at her sensei curiously.

"Kurenai-sensei? Is everything alright?" Naru asked.

"Hai… Everything is fine, Naru." Kurenai replied. "I simply wish to speak with you for a moment."

"Sure…" Naru agreed. "What's up?"

"I wanted to talk about a certain technique you know. I believe you know it as the Ina Tenkuu Kiri Jutsu, correct?" Kurenai began.

"Hai… That's the genjutsu that I used on Mizuki…" Naru replied quietly. "But… why do you wanna know about it?"

"Well, the truth of the matter is, that technique is a very powerful genjutsu… It's not one that many can learn… Which is part of the reason you were placed on my team." Kurenai explained. "The Hokage-sama believes that you have the potential to be a very powerful shinobi, especially in the field of genjutsu."

"Really?! The old man thinks that?!" Naru exclaimed.

"Hai… However, he also believes you could use a lot of work." Kurenai replied. She noticed Naru looked confused, so she went on. "Although you do know how to use a powerful genjutsu, you do not have the skills to perform others… Or even truly understand how to use them well. According to the report the Hokage received from both Iruka and Inoichi, your basic handling was sloppy, and you could use a lot of work. That is where I will come in."

"You, Kurenai-sensei?" Naru asked.

"Hai. I am a Jounin, this you already know." Kurenai said. "However, I am also known as the Genjutsu Mistress of Konoha. There are few in this village who have a better handling of genjutsu than I do. So, I'd like to train you further in them. I believe the Hokage was right in his judgment of your potential, and I'd like to help you. Will you allow me to do this?"

"You really wanna help me?" Naru asked.

"Of course." Kurenai replied. "So, what do you say?"

"I'm in!" Naru cheered.

"Good…" Kurenai said. "I will arrange a time when you and I can be alone to work on your genjutsu skills. I'm looking forward to working with you, Naru."


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

**THE SISTER YAMANAKA**

**CHAPTER 8: SQUAD TEN**

Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji gave Naru a wave as she left the classroom with her new team. The younger of the two sisters gave a sigh, before slowly trudging off behind Kiba and Shino, following Kurenai to where they would hold their first meeting. As they left, a slight chuckle escaped Shikamaru's mouth. Ino turned and looked at the boy curiously.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"That team will be…" Shikamaru replied. "I mean, Naru and Kiba have never really gotten along. In fact, more often than not they end up in an insult-fest or argument. Putting them on the same team? It's like mixing oil and water."

Ino frowned a bit, giving the boy an elbow. Although she knew he was right. She kind of felt a bit sorry for Kurenai. As much as she loved her sister, Ino knew Naru could be a handful, and when you add Kiba to the equation. Well… As Shikamaru would say, the whole thing just seemed troublesome. Ino was snapped out of her thoughts by Iruka clearing his throat once more, and picking up where he left off in the team assignments.

"Now then… Squad Nine is still in circulation from last year. This means that the final team will be Squad Ten. It will be led by Sarutobi Asuma, and it will of course consist of Akimichi Chouji, Yamanaka Ino, and Nara Shikamaru… Mainly because there isn't anyone else left." Iruka said.

"Sarutobi?" Chouji asked. "Why does that name sound so familiar?"

"It's the last name of the current Hokage, Chouji…" Shikamaru sighed.

"Wow… We're gonna be trained by someone who's related to the Hokage?!" Ino asked. "Naru's gonna be so jealous!"

At that moment, the door opened and a bearded Jounin walked in. He was wearing the standard shinobi attire: a blue jumpsuit with a green flack vest over top of it. His hitai-ate was styled like a bandana which he wore on his head. He kept his sleeves rolled up a bit too. He had a slightly… laid back appearance to him. He even went as far as to light up a cigarette while in the room. Needless to say, it kind of blew away the image Ino had of him.

"Squad Ten…" he said, looking up at the three. "Anyone up for some barbeque? My treat."

"Now that is my kind of sensei!" Chouji cheered as he stood out of his seat and ran to keep up with Asuma.

Shikamaru and Ino looked at each other and sighed, before heading out the door. Ino waved to Sakura as she went out the door. She along with Sasuke and Hinata were still waiting on Hatake Kakashi to come by and pick them up. As the three followed Asuma to the barbeque restaurant, Ino was wondering what the relation the Jounin had to the Hokage. She smiled as she picked up her pace and grinned at him.

"So… Sarutobi, huh?" Ino asked. "You must be related to the Hokage then, right? How so?"

"Well… If you really wanna know so bad… He's my old man." Asuma replied. "But… we can cover that later… I wanna get to know each of you, so I'd rather wait until we get to the barbeque place, then we can cover the intros, alright?"

"Oh… Sure. No problem." Ino replied, falling back a bit. She grinned more as she looked over at Shikamaru and Chouji, leaning in close to whisper. "His old man! This isn't just some distant relative or whatever! The Hokage is his tousan! Heh… Naru is gonna be so jealous…"

"I don't see where it's that big of a deal, Ino…" Shikamaru sighed. "Just because he's related to the Hokage doesn't mean he's strong or anything. For all we know he could be the weakest shinobi in the village."

"Well, it doesn't matter to me whether he's strong or weak." Chouji said. "Anyone who's willing to pay for a good lunch is good in my book!"

"Chouji, do you ever think with anything that isn't your stomach?" Ino asked.

"Of course!" Chouji replied. He paused for a moment as his stomach growled, a blush forming on his cheeks. "Just not when I'm hungry."

It wasn't much longer before the group arrived at the barbeque restaurant. Asuma immediately ordered as the team arrived, ordering the variety platter for the meal. As for drinks, he ordered tea for the three of the them and sake for himself. The three students sat on one side of the table, while Asuma sat at the other. He reached into his vest pocket, pulling out a pack of cigarettes, which he then followed by pulling one out and lighting it up. He took a slow drag and sighed, before looking at the three.

"Now while we're waiting for the grub, let's cover our intros." Asuma said. "Name, hobby, likes, dislikes, goals… I'm sure you get the idea. Let's start with you, the one with the lazy gaze."

"Fine…" Shikamaru sighed. "My name is Nara Shikamaru. My hobbies include watching clouds, taking naps, and shougi. My likes… I suppose my friends. I don't care much for loud or annoying things… Basically anything troublesome. As for a goal? I guess to one day have a wife and a family…"

"Alright then, how about you blondie?" Asuma asked, glancing at Ino.

"My name is Yamanaka Ino. My hobbies include flower arranging, helping my kaasan at our family's store, and being with my friends. My likes are flowers, my friends, and my family. I dislike those who hate someone for something that they may not have any control over…" Asuma's eyes widened, as he caught exactly what she meant. "My goal is to become a strong kunoichi and take over my family's store one day."

"Alright, and now for you." Asuma said, pointing at Chouji.

"My name is Akimichi Chouji. My hobbies are being with friends and eating a good meal. I like friends, hanging out with Shikamaru, and good food. I dislike people who judge only by outward appearances. My goal is to one day become the head of my clan… and become a strong shinobi."

"Hmm… Not a bad team I got here…" Asuma mused. "Well, as Iruka told you, my name is Sarutobi Asuma. My hobbies include training, having a good smoke, and playing shougi. So there's something we have in common, Shikamaru. Anyways, I like those who are willing to work hard and those who don't give up. My dislikes… Well I hate judgmental people and those who don't try. I don't care much for lateness either. As for a goal… Well, I suppose that would be to train you guys into a successful team."

He paused as their meal and drinks were served. Chouji wasted no time in grabbing some food, to which Asuma chuckled a bit. The Akimichi reminded him much of Chouza, as did Shikamaru remind him of Shikaku. He finished off his cigarette before continuing.

"As you may know, this team is based off another one in Konoha's past." Asuma said.

"You mean touan's old one." Ino said. "He worked along side of Shikamaru and Chouji's."

"Hai, that's right. My old man figured that the combo back then worked well, so he decided to make it again this year." Asuma continued. "However, it's not going to happen just yet."

"I don't understand? Why not?" Chouji asked, while swallowing some of his food.

"Well, before we can get to the training, I unfortunately have to give you guys a test." Asuma replied.

"A test?" Shikamaru asked. "Troublesome… We've just become Genin, and we're already getting tested."

"Well, that's the catch, Shikamaru." Asuma said. "You guys technically aren't Genin… At least not yet."

"Nani?!" Ino replied. "Then, what was the point of the exam Iruka-sensei gave us back at the academy?"

"To be honest, it was merely to get rid of the useless students. That ways, only the ones that showed us true potential would be left." Asuma explained. "I suppose an easier way to think of it, would be to consider the Genin exam to be a two-parter. You guys managed to pass the first portion, so now you need to do the second part of the test."

"Great…" Shikamaru sighed. "So, what is this second part going to be?"

"Well… I've been thinking about that for a bit. And I think I've come up with just the thing." Asuma replied. "Just meet me at Training Ground #10 in about an hour."

The three Genin watched as the Jounin's smile grew a bit. He slowly rose from the table, and lit yet another cigarette. He turned back to the group and gave an approving nod, before heading out of the restaurant. Chouji, Ino, and Shikamaru all three turned and looked at each other.

"Does anyone have the feeling this is going to be really annoying?" Shikamaru asked.

"He just likes building up suspense, that's all!" Ino reassured the lazy boy.

"Man… Why did he have to tell us about a test though?" Chouji asked with a sigh. "My stomach feels like it's going to be sick.

Of course, this didn't stop the boy from snatching up the last of the barbeque. Ino giggled a bit, and the group soon made their way to the ordered meeting place. However when the team arrived there, they found themselves not to be the only ones there. In fact, it appeared as if another entire team had already gathered there. Three other shinobi were all standing about the field talking to one another, and beside them a taller, older man stood.

He was one that Ino and her teammates could only assume to be a Jounin instructor. However, he didn't dress like one. Rather that the standard navy blue jumpsuit and green vest combo, he wore a pair of tight, green spandex, though he did keep the vest. Around his ankles was a pair of orange leg warmers that extended up to his knees. His hitai-ate was tied around his waist like a belt rather than around his forehead, and it had a red cloth behind it instead of a blue one. He had monstrous, fuzzy eyebrows and a bowl cut for a hairdo. He smiled brightly as Squad Ten came closer. Shikamaru winced a bit, swearing he saw the sun reflecting in the man's teeth.

"YOSH! I can see it from here, Asuma! The Flames of Youth are burning brightly within them all!" the unknown man shouted.

"Calm down, Gai… You're going to scare them away before this even gets started…" Asuma sighed. He walked forward, meeting his team halfway to the other one. "Good to see you all got here on time. I hope you're all ready for your test?"

"I guess so…" Chouji answered. "But, Asuma-sensei… Who are all these guys?"

"Them? Oh, they're just some friends of mine." the Jounin sensei answered, only to be cut off by the one known as Gai.

He ran forward dynamically, and stopped with a wide smile on his face. His teeth began to shine once more, and he gave the team a thumbs-up.

"It's an honor to meet you all! Allow me the honor of introducing us to you! My name is Maito Gai, and behind me stands my team, Squad Nine! Also known as Team Gai!" the loud man proclaimed. He stood to the side and smiled. "Introduce yourselves to them!"

The first member of the team leapt forward immediately. He honestly looked exactly like Gai, only smaller. The only difference between the two, was the boy was shorter, he didn't wear a vest, and he had bandages wrapped around his arms. As he came to a stop, he immediately gave a fierce salute to the team and smiled.

"My name is Rock Lee, the Green Beast of Konoha! It is an honor to meet you all!" the boy stated. He stared about the three for a moment, eyeing them carefully. However, a small pause was noticed when his eyes fell to Ino. He smiled a bit, and immediately bowed forward. "You must be Ino…"

"H-Hai, that's right." Ino replied, eyeing the boy strangely as he introduced himself.

"After this test, it would be an honor if you would go out with me." he stated.

Ino's eyes widened as she heard this. There was not one moment's hesitation as Lee asked her out. To make matters worse, the boy also quickly rose up and gave her a wink. She watched in slight horror as the boy put his bandaged wrapped hand up to his lips, and quickly blew her a kiss. It was almost as if she could see a pair of lips flying through the air in her direction. Ino quickly jumped to the ground, narrowly ducking underneath the lips.

"That's enough, Lee… You can flirt later!" a girl and fellow teammate of Lee told him.

"Gomen, Tenten. You are right…" Lee replied.

The boy bowed and backed away, looking back at Gai as he did so. Gai smiled brightly once more, giving the boy another thumbs-up, which Rock Lee immediately returned. The scary thing about it was that Lee had a similar shine to his teeth. It was like watching a clone. Tenten sighed, and stepped forward.

"Anyways… As you probably already know by now, my name is Tenten! It's nice to meet you all." the girl of Gai's team announced.

Tenten was about Ino's height, maybe a bit taller. She wore a pink, sleeveless shirt with red lining, and a pair of green shinobi pants. Her hair was brown, and done up in the style of two matching buns. Her eyes were brown as well. Tenten also kept her hitai-ate around her forehead. What was odd about the girl, was the way she kept balancing a kunai on her index finger by the tip of the blade. She seemed to notice Ino and the others watching her do this like it was nothing, and smiled brightly.

"Oh, don't worry! I'm a bit of a weapon's expert if I do say so myself!" the girl explained. "I won't hurt myself!"

A sigh was heard from amongst the group shortly after that. Everyone looked around, and noticed the final member of Gai's group standing off at a distance. His arms were crossed, and his eyes remained closed in a calm, relaxed manner. He was wearing a pair of brown shorts, and a beige colored, short-sleeved shirt. He had incredibly long, brown hair; which he kept pulled back at the very end of it. Like the Tenten, his hitai-ate was tied around his forehead. Tenten sighed and walked over to the boy, pulling him forward some.

"Come on, Neji! At least tell them your name." Tenten urged.

"You already did." the boy sighed. Tenten gave an annoyed groan. "Fine… My name is Hyuuga Neji…"

Ino and the others gasped a bit as the boy faced them and opened his eyes. They looked very familiar, if only because they were without pupils. Also, they had a distinct, yet faint lavender hue.

"Hyuuga… Hey, I bet he's related to that girl in our class!" Ino exclaimed.

"Hinata…" Shikamaru sighed. "Her name is Hinata."

"I knew her name!" Ino remarked.

The two paused as they felt a rather cold glare coming on them. Both of them turned to see a very annoyed look on Neji's face. The boy simply sighed and turned his back to the two. Ino tilted her head and glared at him.

"What's his problem?" Ino sighed. "All I did was mention a classmate of ours… No reason to turn into a jerk."

"It's a bit complicated…" Tenten answered the girl. "You see…"

"Tenten." Neji interrupted. "That's enough."

"R-Right… Gomen, Neji." Tenten said.

Chouji, Ino, and Shikamaru both looked at each other with confused glances. Ino and Chouji just shrugged it off, but Shikamaru couldn't just yet. Something about that was just… odd. He thought about thinking about the subject some more, but decided the whole thing was just way too troublesome.

"Well now that introductions are out of the way, let's get on with the test." Asuma suggested.

"Right… The test." Shikamaru sighed. "How exciting…"

"Oh! His eyes are shining with youth!" Gai exclaimed. He ran up to Shikamaru and grabbed the boy in a deep hug. "Asuma-san, this shinobi is amazing!"

"Calm down, Gai… And please let my student go?" Asuma sighed. Gai obeyed, and Asuma continued with a small smirk. "Besides, none of these guys are official shinobi just yet. They have to pass the test first…"

"So, what is this test?" Chouji asked. He paused and reached into his pocket, pulling out a handful of chips. "It's not going to be too hard is it?"

"I suppose that depends on your skill." Asuma replied. He paused and reached into his pocket, pulling out two flags. One was a bright yellow, and the other was a bright pink. He held them out for both groups to see. "As you can see, I have to flags here. The test is simple really. You must protect your flag, while trying to take this one. The one among you who manages to steal the flag belonging to Gai's team will be come a Genin. However, if Gai's team manages to get the other flag… Well, then you all fail."

He paused for a moment, passing the flags out to the others. He gave the pink one to Gai's team, and the yellow one to Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji. Ino thought about the rules in her head, and suddenly her eyes widened.

"Hey! Wait a minute!" the Yamanaka exclaimed. "You mean only one of us can become a Genin?"

"Pretty much." Asuma replied simply. "So, I guess you better make sure you're the one to get the flag from the other team, huh?"

The three of them looked slightly worried. Even Shikamaru looked a bit concerned. Asuma just smiled as he lit a cigarette and took a deep puff.

"So, it's everyone for themselves?" Chouji asked, just trying to make sure.

"Well, except for our team." Tenten replied. "After all, we're already Genin, so we are all against you."

"Bingo." Asuma said. "Now, if they're aren't any other questions… You have exactly two hours for this test. Best of luck, all…"


End file.
